Introduction

Torch form factor and functionality have been, more or less, standardized for decades. With the advances in battery and LED technologies, new possibilities emerged and torches got smaller, more powerful and started including extra features and exploring new form factors.

Today we are having a faceoff between two such torches that fall into the EDC category and could be considered the multitools of torch kind. Both feature a pocketable size, flat "candy bar" design that fits easier in the pocket, powerful (for their size) output, UV light and laser pointer.

So, without further delay, on the red corner we have the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai with SFT-40 emitter and on the blue corner the Olight Arkfeld Pro with Cool White emitter.

Unboxing

But before we get to the comparison of the torches, let's take a look at the packaging. Jetbeam went with a premium, flip open box with magnetic latch while Olight opted for a simpler box with standard opening.

Olight includes the product's most important specifications on the back of the box while Jetbeam does not.

Both torches come with a 5 year warranty. Olight even offers lifetime warranty if you live in Australia, China, France, Germany or the US.

Manuals

Upon opening the boxes, we are greeted with the manuals and safety instruction leaflets.

Olight is great at having full documentation online and I easily found the manual in PDF form. Jetbeam on other hand is not as good with it, so I had to take a photo of the manual to include here. Both manuals are comprehensive, although Jetbeam's is for the SST-40 and not the SFT-40 version, as the SFT-40 option is new and the manual is still in printing. Regardless, it still has mistakes, as some parts of it refer to the E26 non UV version functionality. As a new manual is soon to be released for the SFT-40 version of the light, I can only hope that these will be addressed.

Accessories

The included accessories are minimal. The Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 comes with a USB A to USB C charging cable and a lanyard while the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW only comes with Olight's proprietary magnetic charging cable.

The magnetic charging cable is the MCC 1A, so it will charge with 1A of current.

The Torches

The torches have similar shapes, with the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 being longer and wider than the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW. I opted for the Dragon Edition which comes with a cool dragon design.

Both torches feature a rotating selector, to choose between white light, UV and laser pointer and a button in the middle to operate the selected mode. The Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW features a 4 step battery indicator between the selector ring and the dragon. The Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 has a physical lock position on the rotator ring while the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW uses the standard electronic lock that the company employs.

While being longer and wider, the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 is thinner than the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW. Both torches have pocket clips.

On one of the sides, the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 has a USB C charging port, which is not covered by a flap! This is a great feature as most USB rechargeable torches rely on a rubber cover to keep them waterproof, but on this occasion a more expensive and vastly more convenient waterproof USB C port was used. Next to it, there is an indicator LED which shows the charging and the battery level states.

The bottom of both torches is where the pocket clips are fastened with screws.

At the front, we find the emitters, with the white LED emitter on the left, the UV emitter on the right and the laser pointer in the middle.

The Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 is obviously using an SFT-40 emitter, which is low CRI and neutral white, behind an orange peel reflector. The Olight is using a domed low CRI emitter, which is a cool white Osram P9, behind a TIR optic. The UV emitters are different and Jetbeam claims an output of 1300mw at 365nm while Olight claims 900mw at 365nm. Both torches feature a green laser at 520nm.

The Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 features 4 zirconia ceramic balls at the very front of the bezel, designed to be used to break glass in an emergency.

Turning to the tail end, the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 has a tail switch which can be used to operate the white light. The Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW has the proprietary Olight magnetic charging port. This also makes it able to magnetically attach to surfaces.

Charging is going to be an important differentiating factor between these two torches. I find myself split between the convenience of charging my torch with my phone charger and cable and the convenience of the magnetic charger which snaps into place with zero effort, even in the dark.

At the end of the day, I would personally opt for the USB C, just because when I'm on the move I do not need to carry any extra gear to charge my torch. Maybe if Olight would change the USB plug of the MCC charger to USB C, that would make it more convenient, as most modern phone chargers do not have USB A ports.

The mandatory laser warning stickers that can be found on the bottom of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 and the side of the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW show that they are both Class III green lasers. The stickers can be easily removed for a cleaner look.

The Clips

The clip of the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW is bidirectional, making it substantially wider but more versatile. It also includes a lanyard hole. On the other hand, the monodirectional clip of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 provides a cleaner look and a slimmer profile.

The clip of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 can be reversed for bezel up carry. This requires the removal of 4 screws, the 2 that hold the clip in place and the two at the front where the clip will go. The two sets of screws have different lengths, with the longer set being longer to accommodate the thickness of the clip. 

The blue trim at the tail end can also be removed and switched around with the removal of 2 screws. This allows the change of the lanyard hole from one side to the other.

Here is the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 with the clip and lanyard hole reversed.

Unfortunately, the long screws will non fit flush in the torch without the clip. That would allow for a clip-less option. These are fairly standard T6 screws and if someone prefers the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 without a clip, they can find a pair of shorter screws. A pity they are not included in the accessories though.

The clip of the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW can also be removed, allowing the option to relace it if broken. The unsightly recess that is left behind when the clip is removed and the fact that the lanyard hole is removed along with the clip, as it is part of it, makes the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW a bad candidate for clip-less carry.

Specifications

The specifications of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40, as found on the manufacturer's website, can be seen in the table below.

The specifications of the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW, as found on the manufacturer's website, can be seen in the table below.

Indicator LED and User Interface

Both torches feature indicator LEDs.

The Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 has one indicator LED next to the charging port. It will blink red while charging and turn green when the charging is completed. When using the torch, it will turn on for 5 seconds in green, orange or red. Green indicates a charge of 100% to 35%, orange 35% to 15% and red below 15%.

The Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW has a more comprehensive and intuitive system, using 4 indicator LEDs below the selector ring. 4 green LEDs indicate a charge of 100% to 75%, 3 indicate 75% to 50%, 2 indicate 50% to 25%, 1 green LED means a charge of 25% to 10% and 1 red LED a charge of below 10%. The Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW uses an LED on the MCC charging cable to indicate the charging status.

The user interface of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 is simple and intuitive.

The selector ring.

The selector ring has 4 positions:

The leftmost position will lock the light and neither the side nor the tail switch will work while the light is locked.

The next position will enable the use of the white light.

The third position enables the use of the UV light.

The fourth and last position enables the use of the laser pointer.

If the light is on in any of the 3 operational positions and the ring is rotated to another operating position, the new option selected will be immediately active, with the white light using its mode memory. If the rotator ring is set to the lock position, the light will turn off and will not turn automatically on if the ring is moved to any operational position.

The side switch.

Once an operational position is selected with the rotator ring, the selected function can be turned on with a simple click of the side switch. There is no confusing double or triple clicking.

When the white light is selected and turned on, click and hold will cycle through the modes. The UV light and laser have no modes, so click and hold will do nothing when they are selected.

One click will turn off the light.

There is mode memory for the white light.

The tail switch.

The tail switch can operate the white light in momentary mode, if half pressed, or constant mode if fully pressed.

It will override the side switch and turn on the white light on Ultra High mode, regardless of the position of the rotating ring (except if it is on lock) and regardless of whether the torch was on or off via the side switch. It does not effect the side switch mode memory.

If the tail switch is turned off, the torch will turn off regardless of whether it had been on via the side switch when the tail switch was turned on.

If the torch is on via the tail switch and the selector ring is then set to lock, the torch will turn off. When the selector ring is moved to any operational position, with the tail switch still on, the light will immediately turn on Ultra high.

A double half press of the tail switch will activate a temporary strobe. Fully pressing the tail switch at that point will make the strobe constant.

The operation of the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW is very clearly described in figures 1 through 14 in the manual below. It is still intuitive for the simple functions but more complex than the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 and provides advanced functionality such as simultaneous use of the white light and green laser and sleep timers.

Modes

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

My measurements, orange for the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 and green for the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW, are shown in the following table, compared to the stock specs (black).

The Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 is the more powerful of the two torches but it seems that the marketing claims are exaggerated, both for maximum output and maximum throw. The Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW on the other hand does not make claims it cannot live up to, which I respect. The Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW also has a moonlight mode, which I find very useful while the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 does not.

The following graph shows the lumen output on all modes, for the two torches.

The next graph shows the throw on all modes.

Photometry

I'm happy to report that to the lasting dismay of my wallet, I now own a Sekonic C-800 spectrometer, so the measurements below should be quite accurate.

The CCT of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40starts off at neutral-warm 4651K on Low and drifts up more than a 1000K to 5736K on Ultra High while the  Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW is cool all the way, starting at 6029K on moonlight and climbing only by 440K, to 6469K on Turbo.

Both emitters are low CRI and will not win any light beauty awards but instead focus on output and efficiency.

The photo below the table was taken on Low mode for both torches, where the  Duv of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 is at its greenest. It turns much less green on Medium and moves to neutral territory on High and positively rosy on Ultra High. The Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW on the other hand is green all the way, turning neutral on Turbo.

As for CRI, both torches hover around 70, with negative R9.

You can see how the tint of both torches looks like on Low on the below photo, which was taken with the white balance locked at 5500K.

Here are some graphs to illustrate all of the above.

For the more tech savvy readers, I'm including the measurements from the Sekonic C-800.

The Spectrograms and CRI graphs clearly show the poor colour rendition of both torches and the TM-30 graphs are extremely revealing!

Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 Photometric Data

Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW Photometric data

Comparative Photometric Data

Beam Profile

The beam profile of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 is more concentrated, providing more candela and throw, while the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW has a wider beam.

This can also be seen in the video comparison, below.

Video Comparison

I took a short video, comparing the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 to the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW. The distance from where I am standing to the end of the lane is 70m.

Driver

Both torches feature fully regulated, constant current drivers that provide stable output. They also seem to have excellent thermal regulation as well as all the standard protections.

Here is what my OPPLE Light Master Pro G3 saw for the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 driver:

And here is what it saw for the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW driver.

Here is what my camera saw, at a shutter speed of 1/12000 sec.

Battery and Charging

Both torches have internal, non replaceable Lithium - Polymer batteries. The Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 claims a capacity of 1700mAh while the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW claims a capacity of 1500mAh

The charging of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 is accomplished via the USB C port while the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW uses the included, proprietary magnetic charging cable.

A blinking red LED next to the charging port indicates that the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 is charging while a steady red LED on the magnetic charger is indicating that the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW is charging. Both indicator LEDs turn steady green when the charging is completed.

The following chart shows the charging of the battery inside the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40, after it had been depleted to the point where the torch turned itself off. The charging used a maximum current of 1.529952A and was completed at a total charging time of 1 hour, 5 minutes and 45 seconds. This charging process used a total of 7.6513Wh.

The following chart shows the charging of the battery inside the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW, after it had been depleted to the point where the torch turned itself off. The charging used a maximum current of 0.867535A and was completed at a total charging time of 2 hour, 14 minutes and 35 seconds, which is about half the maximum current and more than double the time it took the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 to charge. This charging process used a total of 7.2794Wh.

Runtime Charts

Let's go over some runtime charts for both the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 and the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW.

The first chart shows the full runtime of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40, on Ultra High. All the details are noted on the chart.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

This is with the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW , also on Turbo.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

This is the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 full runtime chart, on High.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

This is the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW full runtime chart, on High.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

I combined the above charts, to provide an easy visual comparison of the data. The numerical values are omitted, to keep the charts clear. We can see that the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 provides higher output, at the expense of lower run times, despite the larger battery capacity.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above graph, in greater detail. This shows that the Ultra high output of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 is actually higher for less than a minute and then it drops sharply. In contrast, the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW starts lower but can sustain the Turbo output for much longer, making it brighter  for more than 2 minutes during the turbo burst.

Conclusion

There is too much information in the paragraphs above to summarise in the conclusion, so if you just read the introduction and came here for the TLDR, I have bad news for you, you need to go back and read through.

The Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 and the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW share a common form factor, that of the flat, "candy bar" design and offer white light, UV and green laser outputs, with a selector ring and intuitive interface.

The differences between them are many and are all a matter of preference. In short, both a good quality, well designed and executed torches that will make the owner happy but which one is better suited to your personal tastes and needs is something you will have to think for yourself. I hope the information I provided in this review will help you make that choice.

The samples for this review were provided by FlashlightGo.com and their price for the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40 is £68. The cost for the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW is £78. 

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Jetbeam E26-UV Kunai - SFT-40:

Pros

+ Easy and intuitive interface through a selector ring and side switch.

+ Tail switch.

+ 365nm UV.

+ Green Laser.

+ Excellent fit and finish.

+ Reversible pocket clip.

+ USB C charging.

+ Waterproof USB C port without the need for a rubber flap.

+ Charge level indicator LED.

+ Constant current regulated driver.

+ Zirconia Ceramic balls at the front to break glass in an emergency.

+ Pocketable, flat form factor.

+ Fast charging in a little over 1hr.

+ 5 year warranty.

+ IPX8.

Cons

- No moonlight mode.

- Exaggerated marketing claims.

- The battery is not removable / replaceable.

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Olight Arkfeld Pro - CW:

Pros

+ Easy and intuitive interface through a selector ring and side switch.

+ 365nm UV.

+ Green Laser.

+ Excellent fit and finish.

+ Bidirectional pocket clip.

+ Easy, magnetic charging.

+ Charge level indicator LEDs.

+ Constant current regulated driver.

+ 1 Lumen Moonlight mode.

+ Magnet in the tail.

+ Pocketable, flat form factor.

+ Ability to use white light and laser concurrently.

+ 5 year warranty or lifetime if you live in Australia, China, France, Germany or the US

+ IPX7.

Cons

- Proprietary charger.

- Relatively slow charging at well over 2hrs.

- The battery is not removable / replaceable.

I think both torches offer great value and features and which one is best for you depends on your needs and preferences. The rating below is representative for both torches.

Polymeros Achaniotis 26/08/2024

The review samples were provided by FlashlightGo.com. There was no monetary or other compensation for this review and all views and opinions are my own. 

Introduction

Olight is a well-known torch brand with devoted fans and some rather controversial marketing practices. Personally, I try to keep a neutral perspactive and really enjoy some of their offerings while staying away from both the cult-like fan camp and the haters.

It is standard for Olight to use high output, low CRI emitters with - honestly - ghastly green tints, so modability is a must for me to consider one of their products.

Which brings us to a torch that really caught my eye, as it ticks all the boxes for me. The Olight Seeker 4 Mini comes in aluminium, with several anodization options, or sandblasted Titanium. I opted for the Titanium version.

The Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti is a torch that can output either white light or UV.

It is an EDC sized triple emitter torch, of which the 2 emitters are white and the 3rd is the UV emitter. 

Unboxing

As with most Olight torches, the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti comes in a very premium looking box with excellent presentation.

Opening the box, you are greeted with a thank you and the instructions on how to remove the insulating film from the battery to allow for normal operation and charge the torch. The film is there to prevent accidental activation of the light during shipping.

The other side of the film removal and charging instructions card is a nice thank you note from the company.

Under the note we find the torch, nicely encased in foam. There is even a ribbon to help get it out and, of course, a little box with accessories.

The accessories are a standard Olight lanyard and the charging cable.

The cable has a magnetic end which attaches to the tail of the torch to charge it, as is the norm with Olight torches. This particular version is rated at 1A.

The other side of the charging cable is a standard USB type A plug. I believe it's time to move to USB C for all devices as USB A is bulky and not reversible while most phone chargers now come with USB C.

The Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti is a nice EDC torch with a rather large head and a side button.

The button is made of metal and features an indicator LED in the middle. on the other side of the button there is a preinstalled, bidirectional clip, which is not deep carry. It is functional but not the best looking clip.

The black crenelated bezel is not aggressive and will allow light to spill if the torch is placed head down on a table, which is helpful. The CCT is indicated to be between 5700K and 6700K.

The tail cap is simple and has some texturing to facilitate removal and installation.

UV light is blocked by TIR optics, which forced Olight to use a reflector and lens on this torch. This is a much more reliable and robust configuration, as TIR optics are plastic and can scratch or even melt if used while contaminated. The reflector needs to be physically larger than a TIR optic to focus light effectively, which led to a larger diameter head, frankly on the higher edge of pocketable, but it is a price I am willing to pay to have a reflector instead of a TIR.

The tail end is the standard Olight design that allows the magnetic attaching of the charger.

Unscrewing the tail cap reveals the battery, with both of its ends covered by the insulating film.

The battery is an Olight branded 18350 Li-Ion with a rated capacity of 1100mAh or 3.96Wh and it is proprietary.

The negative pole is standard, but the positive pole is surrounded by a black plastic insulator and another negative pole around that. This offers both the positive and negative poles on the same side of the battery.

Inside the battery tube, we can see where both positive and negative poles make a connection on the back of the driver, the positive with a spring and the negative with a circle surrounding the spring.

There is also a holding ring keeping the driver in place, which seems to imply that the driver may be removable, although I did not test that.

The inside of the tail cap has a spring loaded contact for the negative pole in the middle and an insulator around it. There is an internal tube that carries the positive contact of the charging cable to the driver side.

This complex design facilitates the magnetic charging but also removes the option for the torch to work with any other except the proprietary batteries, locking the user into an ecosystem. Granted, the battery does come included with the torch, but any replacements or extras will have to be purchased from Olight, at a premium price.

There are 2 sides to this argument. There are many that despise the proprietary battery and also having to carry a proprietary cable around to charge the torch, when we all carry USB C cables for our other devices anyway. There are also those who believe it is worth using the proprietary battery and carrying the extra cable for the convenience of the magnetically attached charging. I stand with the first crowd on this, but you can decide for yourselves.

The threads are square cut and well made although quite scratchy, as is the norm with production level Titanium torches. There was no lubrication on the O-ring or threads.

Specifications

The specifications of the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti, as found on the manufacturer's website, can be seen in the table below.

Size Comparison

Size wise, the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti is larger than most 13650 torches, mainly due to the reflector instead of a TIR. Here it is between the Reylight Dawn and the Hank Wang Emisar D4V2 Ti.

Indicator LED and User Interface

The button of the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti features and indicator LED in the middle, which shows the battery level.

The operation of the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti follows the standard Olight operation, with some modifications for the control of the UV light.

Modding

I would not have purchased the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti if it was not modable, as I prefer my torches to have nice quality rather than high output light.

Unscrewing the bezel of the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti is pretty straight forward and no tools are needed. Under the bezel, there is a white O-Ring which hugs the edge of the lens and under the lens there is a triple reflector.

Under the reflector, we find the MCPCB.

With a little modding magic, we go from the stock configuration in the first photo, to the eye candy in the second photo. I opted to replace the original emitters, which seem like Osram P9 to me (even though Olight does not state the exact emitter in the specifications), to a mix of Nichia 519a emitters.

Specifically, I used 1 Nichia 519a sm573 (5700K) and 1 Nichia 519a sm353 (3500K). The result will have a CCT somewhere between the 2 and a Duv value lower than both. This is the point using 2 emitters with different CCTs: Because the BBL line is curved, the Duv of the mixed emitters is lower than both of the 2 emitters.

Source

Modes

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

My measurements, before (green) and after (orange) the modification are shown in the following table, compared to the stock specs (black).

The following graph shows the lumen output on all modes, before and after the mod.

The next graph shows the throw on all modes, before and after the mod.

It is as clear as it was expected that exchanging the Osram P9 emitters to Nichia 519a led to a loss in output. Then why do it? I'm glad you asked. That will become clear in the Photometry section.

Photometry

I'm happy to report that to the lasting dismay of my wallet, I now own a Sekonic C-800 spectrometer, so the measurements below should be quite accurate.

The CCT of the original emitters is very cool. And by cool, I don't mean nice, but rather the opposite, as it starts at 6500K on moonlight and climbs to a bluish 7300K on Turbo, significantly exceeding the CCT values stated in the specifications.

By contrast, the modded version has a CCT between 4200K and 4600K which is excellent for all around use, both in day time and at night. Quite a big upgrade in my opinion.

The Duv is another area of improvement. The stock emitters had a greenish tint on Moonlight mode which became neutral on higher modes and even below BBL on Turbo, even though we can't call it rosy as negative Duvs at 7300K are purple-blue. The modded torch on the other hand offers consistently neutral to slightly rosy Duv!

As for CRI, the difference is clearly massive, with especially the R9 jumping from negative values to consistently over 90!

Here are some graphs to illustrate all of the above.

For the more tech savvy readers, I'm including the measurements from the Sekonic C-800.

The Spectrogram and CRI clearly show the poor colour rendition of the stock emitters and the TM-30 graph is extremely revealing!

As opposed to the stock emitters, the Nichia 519a sm573 and sm353 mix is pure eye candy! Look at those TM-30 graphs!

Here are the spectrogram and CRI comparisons between stock and modded. The spectrogram overlays are revealing.

So, do you think it was worth losing 31% of the maximum output to upgrade the light quality, as shown above? I certainly do but I would be interested to read your opinion in the comments below.

Beam Profile

The beam profile of the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti is a nice mix of throw and spill, excellent for EDC. The beam of the modded version is slightly wider, with a bigger, less intense hot spot. All of the beam photos were taken with the white balance locked to 5500K.

Driver

I do not have a driver board to analyse so I have to guesstimate from the torch's behaviour. The driver seems to be a fully regulated buck - boost driver, as it maintained constant output without following the gradual drop of the battery voltage but also depleted the battery to below 3V.

The driver of the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti uses PWM to regulate the output and it does so at a very high modulation depth. It also uses a high enough frequency to make it safe on all modes, except Moonlight.

Getting a regulated, constant output driver to deliver a very low output is extremely challenging and most brands opt to either use linear drivers to achieve a very low output or not offer a very low output with their regulated drivers. Olight opted to combine a regulated driver with a 1 Lumen Moonlight mode, which resulted in a PWM frequency of 2.2KHz being used. This is tiring to the eyes and is considered a low risk.

Here is what my camera saw, at a shutter speed of 1/12000 sec.

Battery and Charging

The battery of the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti is an Olight branded, proprietary, 18350 Li-Ion battery which is rated at 1100mAh or 3.96Wh.

I measured the battery at a capacity of 1041mAh and an internal resistance of 62mΩ.

The charging of the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti is quite simple. Just get the magnetic charging cable anywhere near the tail end of the torch and it will snap into place and begin charging.

The indicator LED on the charging cable will be red while charging and turn green when the battery is fully charged.

The following chart shows the charging of the battery inside the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti, after it had been depleted to the point where the torch turned itself off. At that point, I let the battery rest and then measured it at 2.85V. The charging used a maximum current of 0.951849A and was completed at a total charging time of 1 hour, 28 minutes and 50 seconds. This charging process used a total of 5.0041Wh. The voltage of the battery at the end of charging was 4.19V.

Runtime Charts

Let's go over some runtime charts for both the stock and the modded Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti.

The first chart shows the full runtime with the stock emitters, on Turbo. All the details are noted on the chart.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

This is with the modded emitters, also on Turbo.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

This is the stock configuration full runtime chart, on High.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

This is the modded emitters full runtime chart, on High.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

I combined the above charts, to provide an easy visual comparison of the data. The numerical values are omitted, to keep the charts clear.

Conclusion

The Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti is an EDC torch, featuring both white light and UV output. It features a triple reflector and lens configuration, which allows the use of a UV emitter and is higher quality and more robust than a TIR optic, but also makes the head necessarily bigger.

The torch comes with 2 stock emitters that seem to be Osram P9, which can output a maximum of 1275 Lumens for 3.5 minutes. this is an impressive sustained output for a torch this size and considering it also offers UV output, but the CCT and CRI of the emitters leave a lot to be desired.

Thankfully, the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti is extremely mod friendly, allowing the advanced user to substitute any 3V 3535 footprint emitter of their choice. I opted for a mix of Nichia 519b sm573 and sm353 and the results, albeit at the cost of 31% output reduction, were visually stunning!

The cost of the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti varies by country and by the time you get it, as Olight has frequent sales. If you want to buy it, definitely wait for when it is on sale as Olight prices make much more sense at those times. All in all, it is a reasonably priced torch, for what it offers.

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Olight Seeker 4 Mini Ti:

Pros

+ Over 1200 Lumens for 3.5 minutes on Turbo.

+ UV.

+ Excellent fit and finish.

+ Titanium.

+ Reflector and lens instead of TIR.

+ Simple and intuitive user interface.

+ Regulated driver.

+ 1 Lumen Moonlight mode.

+ Battery level indicator.

+ Strong magnet in the tail cap.

+ Springs on both ends of the battery.

+ Easy to mod.

+ Very easy magnetically attached charging.

+ IP68.

Cons

- Only 2.2KHz PWM modulation on Moonlight mode, which is not easy on the eyes.

- Large head.

- Proprietary battery.

The sample for this review is part of my personal collection and purchased with my own means

Polymeros Achaniotis 11/03/2024

Introduction

There is a very good reason why many torch makers have a quad emitter model utilizing a 21700 Li-Ion battery. This specific configuration offers a great balance of light output, runtime and portability. While it is not the most pocket friendly EDC, it can easily fit in a jacket pocket or a backpack without being too heavy or too bulky and provide higher output and longer run times than a torch that would fit inside your jeans pocket.

Acebeam is filling that spot in its product line with the Acebeam E75, which comes in 4 colours and 2 emitter choices.

The colour choices, in the order that are pictured above, include grey, black, green and teal (which is a colour between green and blue).

The emitter options are either Cool White, which are actually Osram P9 6500K emitters or neutral High CRI emitters, which are Nichia 519A 5000K CRI90.

You can choose any anodization colour combined with each emitter option, so there are 8 combinations overall. For this review, I will be testing both emitter options so you can decide which one works best for you. I went with the black anodization for the Cool White emitters and the teal for the High CRI.

Unboxing

The box that the Acebeam E75 comes in is not a luxurious one. It seems Acebeam opted to save some costs on packaging which is fine by me, as long as it is passed on to the buyer. The front has an outline of the torch shape while the back lists some of the features, common for both emitter options.

The anodization colour and emitter option are indicated by stickers on one of the sides. Teal is labelled as blue, which can be confusing.

When ordering from Acebeam's website, you can opt to include a white and / or an orange traffic wand. They are high quality and made of silicone so they can be carried without fear of breaking them. They only cost $1.90 each or $3.50 for both so I would get them even if I did not have an immediate use for them. For one thing, they make great diffusers for soft, bedside lighting.

Opening the boxes, we see that the torches come protected in a clear plastic cradle.

All the accessories are underneath and include a lanyard, a USB A to USB C charging cable, 2 spare o-rings, a spare charging port cover, the user manual and the warranty card.

The manual is two sided, one side is in English and the other in Chinese. You can see and read the English side below. The warranty card is also pictured below.

The Acebeam E75 has the typical size and shape of a quad emitter, 21700 torch, with the appropriately sized battery tube and wider head to accommodate the quad emitter configuration.

The machining and anodizing are excellent!

There is a stainless steel crenulated bezel that will allow light to escape if the torch is placed head down on a flat surface and serve to break a car window in need.

The driver section includes the only button, surrounded by a ring of see-through plastic, and some shallow fins to improve heat dissipation and enhance the aesthetics.

The battery tube has 4 flat and 4 diagonally ribbed surfaces, to increase grip. This is not the grippiest surface, but it works well enough and looks nice.

The tail cap also has some thin ribbing to offer a gripping surface when unscrewing it and includes the lanyard hole.

Here is the metal button, surrounded by the see-through plastic.

On the exact opposite side of the button, we find the rubber flap which covers the charging port and the clip.

The clip is held in place with 2 screws, is double sided and not deep carry. 

The flap is easy to open thanks to a little tab that you can grip with your finger nails at the front. It fits very nicely in the recess of the charging port, offering what seems like a tight seal.

The recess of the charging port is wide enough to accommodate all USB C plugs that I have (which are a lot), which is not always the case, so that's nice.

On the business end of the torch, we peel the protective film to find that Acebeam did not go the usual route of a TIR optic but chose instead a quad reflector and glass lens. This is a more expensive but also more robust configuration as there is no plastic to melt if the front of the torch gets dirty and is definitely more scratch resistant.

The quad reflector is smooth so it is expected to offer some throw along with the inherent flood of a quad configuration. On the first photo we see the Osram P9 6500K Cool White emitters and on the second the Nichia 519a 5000K CRI90 emitters. Both emitter types are 3.5x3.5mm.

The tail cap is magnetic and the magnet is strong enough to hold the torch horizontally on my refrigerator. The threads are square cut and come well lubricated.

Removing the tail cap reveals the battery which has a white film covering its negative pole for secure shipping. You have to remove that film to operate the torch.

The battery is an Acebeam branded 21700 Li-Ion battery which is rated at a capacity of 5000mAh and maximum current of 15A.

There is a high quality spring inside the tail cap which looks able to handle the current that the battery can provide. The driver side has a high quality double spring.

After a quick test fit of the traffic wands - I like them - let's proceed with the review.

Specifications

The specifications of the Acebeam E75, as found on the manufacturer's website, can be seen in the following table:

As expected, the more efficient Cool White Osram P9 6500K emitters have a higher output than the High CRI Nichia 519a 5000K.

The following 2 images, taken from the manufacturer's website, show the output of each emitter on all modes.

Other than the specifications dependant on the emitter type, the 2 variants share the same driver and body and therefore have the same features. Those include IP68 grade water and dust resistance and a 1.5m drop resistance.

Size Comparison

Size wise, the Acebeam E75 is similar to any other quad emitter 21700 powered torch. Here are my 2 samples, flanking the Olight Seeker 2 Pro.

Indicator LEDs and User Interface

The see-through plastic ring surrounding the button allows 4 indicator LEDs to shine through. Those provide information about the battery status, as well as the charging status, when you are charging the battery inside the torch.

When the indicator LEDs are green the battery is above 20%, when they are red it is between 20% and 10% and when they are flashing red, it is below 10%.

This system only serves to warn the user when the battery is 20% or lower, so it will need charging soon. Some competitive products have more elaborate battery status information, which can be significantly more helpful. When there is no easy way of knowing if your battery is at 100% or 21%, there are many situations where you may find yourself running out of battery.

So, Acebeam, the 4 indicator LEDs are already there. Put them in a row, change the driver a bit and make them light up to show the remaining battery in increments of 25%. Would that increase the price? Most probably, but it is a feature worth having.

Despite finding the indicator LED system inadequate, the user interface of the Acebeam E75 is simple and intuitive. The way to control the light is described in the following image.

The user interface of the Acebeam E75, in my own words, is as follows:

• From Off
  • Click to turn on (with memory for the 4 main modes, Low, Med1, Med2 and High).
  • Click and hold to turn on at Moonlight mode.
  • Double click to turn on at Turbo
  • Triple click for Strobe.

• From On
  • Click to turn off.
  • Hold to cycle through the main modes (Low, Med1 ,Med2, High). You can do that even from Moonlight, Turbo or Strobe.
  • Double click for Turbo. Double click again to return to previous mode.
  • Triple click for Strobe. Click to turn off, click and hold to cycle through the main modes or double click for Turbo. From Turbo, double click to return to previous (before Strobe) mode. There is no way to go directly from Strobe to a previous, non Turbo mode.

The Acebeam E75 has a locking feature. To engage the lock, press and hold from off. The torch will turn on, on Moonlight mode. Keep holding for 3 more seconds and the emitters will flash 3 times and turn off. The torch is now locked. If you press the main switch while the torch is locked, the indicator LEDs flash green and red alternatively, to indicate that the torch is locked. If you keep holding for 3 seconds the emitters will flash 3 times and the torch will unlock and turn on, on Moonlight mode.

There is also the option of a hardware lock. A slight twist of the tail cap will break the continuity between the negative terminal of the battery and the driver. This will ensure that the torch will not turn on accidentally and remove any parasitic drain, so it is advantageous over the software locking feature.

Modes

As we saw in the specifications section, each of the 2 emitter options provide different output levels, with the Cool White Osram P9 6500K offering higher output and the High CRI Nichia 519a 5000K CRI90 offering better light quality.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

The output levels of the Acebeam E75 for both emitter options can be seen in the following table. The numbers provided by Acebeam are in black and my measurements are in green for the Cool White version and in orange for the High CRI version.

Surprisingly, all my measurements show higher output than specifications, except for the Moonlight modes on both emitters and the Low mode on the High CRI. Very impressive!

The Candela and Throw I measured are close to the specifications for the High CRI version but lower than specifications for the Cool White version.

The following graph shows the lumen output on all modes for both emitters. The Cool White is more powerful on all modes, except of course Moonlight, and the gap increases as the output level increases.

The next graph shows the throw on all modes for both emitters.

Photometry

I took some photometry readings with an Opple Light Master Pro. The results are in the following table.

The CCT of both emitter types is warmer than the specifications, which I like. The CRI is up to 70 on the Cool White Osram P9 and above 95 on the High CRI Nichia 519a.

The Δuv shows that, as expected, the Osram P9 has a strong green tint which becomes a bit more neutral as the output increases. The Nichia 519a on the other hand has a slightly positive Δuv, being in practice quite neutral and even goes below BBL on Turbo.

Here is a photo of the tint on Low. The Cool White Osram P9 6500K is on the left and the High CRI Nichia 519a 5000K is on the right. The photo was taken with a manual white balance of 5500K.

Beam Profile

The beam pattern of both emitter types in the Acebeam E75 is the same. There is a lot a flood but also a defined hot spot. The 4 pedal flower pattern is characteristic of the quad emitter configuration.

Video Comparison

I took a short video, comparing the Cool White Acebeam E75 to the High CRI. The distance from where I am standing to the end of the lane is 70m.

Driver

The driver of the Acebeam E75 is a digitally regulated, constant current boost driver, which takes the 3.7V from the battery and delivers 6V to the emitter array. Both emitter types are 3V, so they are arranged in 2 parallel banks of 2 emitters in a row to work with the 6V that the driver provides. This arrangement should be able to maintain constant brightness regardless of the battery voltage. The driver also features over charging protection, low voltage protection, over current protection and smart temperature control.

Here are some detailed photos of the 3 PCBs that comprise the driver.

There is no visible PWM, in any of the modes as the driver pulses at a very high frequency.

When thermal regulation kicks in, the frequency drops significantly but still remains comfortably high.

Here is what my camera saw, at a shutter speed of 1/12000 sec. No tearing at all.

Current Draw

The following table shows the current draw of both emitter types on all modes. It also shows the respective measured Lumen output and the ratio of Lumens per Amp.

The current draw is a little higher for the Cool White emitter than for the High CRI one, on all modes except Moonlight. The output on the other hand is significantly higher for the Cool White emitters, giving them a higher Lumens per Amp ratio and therefore proving their higher efficiency.

The following charts illustrate this very clearly.

Battery and Charging

The Acebeam E75 comes with a standard, protected, button top, 21700 Li-Ion battery which is rated at a capacity of 5000mAh and a maximum output current of 15A. As the torch features springs on both ends of the battery, I tried using a flat top, unprotected battery, which is the shortest version of a 21700, but even though the torch turned on fine, there was some rattling when shaking the torch and some vigorous shaking turned the torch off. So, even though the battery is not proprietary and any battery can be used, it needs to be of a certain length.

I measured both batteries that came with my samples and found the one that came in the black torch to have a capacity of 5051mAh and an internal resistance of 28mΩ and the one that came in the teal torch to have a capacity of 4987mAh and and an internal resistance of 32mΩ. These seem to be high quality batteries.

The charging of the Acebeam E75 is quite simple. Just lift the rubber flap and connect the included USB A to USB C charging cable, or any USB A to USB C or USB C to USB C cable.

The indicator LEDs will start flashing red while charging and stay lit green when the battery is fully charged.

The following chart shows the charging of the battery inside the Acebeam E75, after it had been depleted to the point where the torch turned itself off. At that point, I let the battery rest and then measured it at 2.85V. The charging used a maximum current of 1.603949A and was completed at a total charging time of 3 hours, 39 minutes and 39 seconds. This charging process used a total of 21.4618Wh. The voltage of the battery at the end of charging was 4.15V.

Runtime Charts

Let's go over some runtime charts for both the Cool White and the High CRI emitter options of the Acebeam E75.

The first chart shows the full runtime of the Cool White emitter option, on Turbo. All the details are noted on the chart.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

This is the High CRI emitter option, also on Turbo.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

This is the Cool White emitter option full runtime chart, on High.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

This is the High CRI emitter option full runtime chart, on High.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

The following chart summarizes all of the above, in 1 chart. Temperatures are omitted, to keep it clean. You can see that the Cool White has higher output, as expected but the High CRI has slightly longer run times and, of course, higher quality light.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

Conclusion

The Acebeam E75 is a quad emitter torch powered by a 21700 Li-Ion battery. It comes in 4 anodization colour options - black, grey, green and teal. It also comes with 2 emitter options: Cool White, which is in fact Osram P9 6500K and High CRI which is Nichia 519a 5000K CRI90. This means that there are a total of 8 different configurations for the buyer to choose from.

The build quality and anodization are, as expected from Acebeam, excellent and the user interface is intuitive, simple and functional.

The 2 emitter options allow the buyer to choose between high output and high quality of light.

The output I measured on the Cool White version exceeds the specifications significantly and makes the Acebeam E75 one of the brightest, if not the brightest (it is definitely the brightest among the ones I have tested) torches of this configuration and size. The throw measurements were below specifications but still quite respectable for this inherently floody form factor.

The High CRI version also measured above its specifications in output and offers a great combination of high output and high CRI, measured above 95 on all modes. The throw was according to specifications on the High CRI version.

The choice of a reflector and glass lens instead of a plastic TIR offer robustness and longevity. There is no worrying about scratches or, even worse, contamination on the TIR that would catch on fire.

The driver is a high efficiency, constant current, boost driver that offers stable outputs and high run times. It includes over charging protection, over current protection, low voltage protection and thermal regulation.

The only important negative I could find is the poorly designed indicator LEDs which will only let you know that your battery is getting low when it reaches 20%. There are much better options such as each of the 4 indicator LEDs representing 25% of the total capacity or even small OLED screens with even more precise information.

You can purchase any of the 8 versions of the Acebeam E75 from their website for $99, and that includes the battery, which is a good price for the features it offers.

If you are in the UK like me and would prefer to avoid the hustle and possible import charges of ordering from abroad, you can get it from Amazon.co.uk for a price that, at the time of writing this review, varies between £99.99 and £127.78, depending on the variant. It is definitely worth checking before ordering.

If you order from Acebeam's website, don't neglect to grab the traffic wands. They are good quality silicone wands that sell for just $1.90 each of $3.50 for both.

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Acebeam E75:

Pros

+ High Lumen output and High CRI options.

+ 4 anodization colours.

+ Output levels exceed specifications and are the highest I have tested in this type of torch.

+ Digitally regulated, constant current boost driver which provides stable output and high efficiency with no visible PWM.

+ Excellent fit and finish.

+ USB type C charging. The charging port recess fits all USB C cables.

+ Overcharging protection, Overcurrent protection, Low Voltage protection and Thermal Regulation.

+ Simple and intuitive User Interface.

+ Replacement charging port cover and 2 replacement O-Rings included.

+ Strong magnet in the tail cap.

+ Springs on both ends of the battery.

+ Works with any protected button top 21700 Li-Ion battery that can provide at least 12A or any 21700 Li-Ion battery that is long enough to not rattle.

+ Double sided clip, held by screws.

+ IP68.

+ Optional high quality silicone traffic wands at low cost.

Cons

- Poor battery level indicator.

- Candela / throw below specifications on the Cool White emitter version.

- Unprotected flat top 21700 batteries will work but rattle and the torch will turn off if bumped.

- I would like to see a holster included or even offered as an optional accessory to keep the torch free from scratches when in a backpack.

Thanks to Acebeam for providing the samples for review

Polymeros Achaniotis 2/10/2023

Introduction

3 months ago I reviewed a very interesting light from Wuben, the Wuben X2. Its unconventional, rectangular design maximizes pocketability and is a refreshing change from the cylindrical norm.

Today, I will be reviewing its larger sibling, the Wuben X1. While the overall design and form factor are distinctly similar, the substantially larger size allows for a significant increase in output and run times. We are talking about soda can light performance, while being able to comfortably fit in a large jacket pocket.

This is, indubitably, an intriguing prospect, so let's dive into the review and see if the Wuben X1 can deliver.

Unboxing

Before I begin the unboxing, I want to mention that the Wuben X1 is made of aluminium and comes in 2 finish options: Black anodizing and White Micro-Arc Oxidation. The sample I will be reviewing today is the latter.

The Wuben X1 comes in a nice, mostly white box.

The top of the box features a picture of the top of the torch, along with the brand and model name. The Wuben X1 is dubbed Falcon.

The bottom of the box includes a detailed specifications table as well as details about the manufacturer and representatives, certifications, barcodes, serial numbers etc. Most importantly, it states that the Wuben X1 is covered by a 1 year warranty. On the other hand, the Wuben website product page clearly states that the warranty of the Wuben X1 is 5 years. I am going to go with the website on that one, as it definitely makes more sense for the level and price of this product.

The 2 larger sides are uneventful, only sporting the company logo.

The 2 smaller sides have photos of the front and rear of the torch.

Upon opening the box, we are greeted by a holster and a smaller white box.

Under the holster, there is the user manual. The accessories in the box are quite spartan and include only a USB C to USB C charging cable and a lanyard with spring loaded clips on each end.

The holster contains the torch, but let's have a look at the holster first.

There is a plastic buckle at the front that secures the flap.

At the back, there is a plastic D ring and a belt loop.

The belt loop is double. The inner loop is permanently sawn on the holster, for absolute safety and the outer loop can open and close with 2 buttons so users can put the holster on their belt temporarily, without needing to open the belt.

The inside of the holster is soft and will not damage the finish of the torch, even with extended use.

The torch itself comes wrapped in a plastic bag, which features a yellow sticker. As the batteries are not (supposed to be) removable, the only way to ensure safe shipping is to electronically lock the light and that is exactly that Wuben did. The sticker explains to the user that the torch is locked and how to unlock it.

The Wuben X1 in Micro-Arc Oxidation white is a beautiful torch. Wuben opted for Black anodized bezel and tail, which looks nice and also makes me think that the reports I have read online about MAO not being as resilient as specs say and chipping more than black anodization may have some truth in them. The button and screws are also black.

The top features the operation button while the bottom has 2 small screw holes and a lanyard attachment hole towards the rear end, on one side.

The screw holes are for attaching the optional bicycle mount.

On one side there is a rubber flap, covering the USB C charging port. There is also a grill, covering an aluminium heat sink.

On the other side, there is another grill, covering a small fan.

The front features 3 Cree XHP 70.2 emitters in a row, behind a triple, shallow, orange peal reflector. The combination of the large emitters with such a reflector is a clear indication of a floody beam.

The tail cap features the serial number, the battery capacity in mAh and Wh and the battery voltage. 7.4V clearly means 2 Li-Ion batteries in series.

There is a warning to not disassemble but the 4 screws in the corners look very inviting.

The button is placed in the centre of a removable plate and has a clear dot in the middle, through which an indicator LED shines. It is slightly recessed and easy to find in the dark, without gloves. It requires a pressing force of about 500g to activate.

Unscrewing

Despite the warning, I went ahead and removed the 4 screws holding the tail cap. This is fairly straightforward, as there is no thread locker, but be extremely careful if you decide to do so. The tail cap is under considerable tension and you are guaranteed to strip the screw holes if you do not keep pressure on the tail cap while removing the 4 screws. And I mean a whole lot of pressure. Consider yourselves warned.

Removing the 4 screws allows the tail cap to come off and reveal 2 batteries in series, as the voltage inscribed on the tail cap indicated.

The batteries are Wuben branded, unprotected, flat top, 21700 Li-Ion batteries with a stated capacity of 4800mAh. They are not proprietary in any way so the batteries of the Wuben X1 can indeed be replaced with any unprotected 21700 Li-Ion batteries when the included ones wear out. Take great care to make sure the batteries used are well matched, as there is no balancing function.

There are thick, high quality springs on both ends of the battery tubes.

Since I started removing screws, I thought I'd take a look at the fan. Removing the 3 screws that hold the grill over it, the fan is revealed. The reason that the grill has 3 instead of the 4 expected screws to hold it in place is also revealed, as the 4th corner of the fan seems to be a conduit for the cables travelling towards the button.

So let's remove the button and follow the cables.

There are only 2 cables from the fan that are soldered onto the PCB that is under the button. This reveals a 2 things.

1. The fan is not speed controlled, it is either fully on or fully off.

2. The Wuben X1 cannot be IP68 waterproof (submersible) as the water can follow the cables to the PCB.

The following picture explains how the fan, blowing air through the heat sink, keeps the torch cool enough to achieve constant output. It also reveals the rather exaggerated translations from Chinese to English that Wuben uses in their marketing material. I certainly hope to not be blown away by a hurricane while testing the torch.

Build Quality and Finish

The build quality of the Wuben X1 is excellent. The fit is immaculate, the Micro-Arc Oxidation is perfect, there are no sharp edges and the product looks and feels premium in all respects.

Size Comparison

Here is the Wuben X1 next to a soda can torch with comparable output, the Sofirn Q8 Pro. It is clear that one of the 2 can be comfortably carried in a jacket pocket while the other cannot.

Specifications

The specifications of the Wuben X1, as found on the company's website, are in the following table:

The Wuben X1 comes with 3 Cree XHP 70.2 emitters with a colour temperature of 6000K that can provide a maximum output of 12000 lumens. That is a bold claim for a torch of this size.

The specifications table includes outputs, run times and beam distances for all main modes and Turbo, which is very nice to see.

As expected from our previous investigation, the Wuben X1 is not submersible but rather has a water proof rating of IP55. There are other manufacturers that have managed to put fans on IP68 rated torches, so I would have liked the Wuben X1 to have achieved the same.

The size and weight information on the specifications sheet is accurate.

User Interface

The user interface of the Wuben X1, as found in the manual, is shown in the diagram below:

From Off:

• Click to turn on.
• Hold to turn on directly to Eco mode, regardless of previous mode used.
• Double click to turn on directly to Turbo, regardless of previous mode used. Hold to cycle between Eco, Low, Medium and High.
• Triple click to turn on directly to Strobe. Triple click again for SOS and triple click again to go back to Strobe etc. Double click to go to Turbo.
• Quad click to lock the torch. The torch flashes 3 times to indicate it has been locked.

From On:

• Click to turn off.
• Hold to cycle through the main modes Eco, Low, Medium and High.
• Click and hold to programme current main mode (explained in Modes and Programming section).
• Double click to go to Turbo.
• Triple click to go to Strobe. Triple click again for SOS, triple click again to go back to Strobe etc. From there click to go to the previously used main mode (Eco, Low, Medium or High) or double click to go to Turbo.

From Locked:

• Quad click to unlock and turn on Eco mode.
• Click, wait 0.5 sec, double click, wait 0.5sec, triple click to reset torch to factory default. The torch unlocks and turns on low mode to indicate a successful factory reset.

There is mode memory for the 4 main modes.

The Wuben X1 also features an indicator LED at the centre of the button. The LED lights as follows to indicate the battery level.

Modes - Programming

The Wuben X1 has 4 main modes (Eco, Low, Medium, High), a Turbo mode and 2 flashing modes (Strobe and SOS).

The output levels of the Wuben X1 can be seen in the following table. The numbers provided by Wuben are in black and my measurements are in orange.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

My Lumen measurements show that the Wuben X1 cannot reach the advertised 12000 Lumens but can reach a very respectable and usable 10570 Lumens of maximum output, which actually surprised me for the size of this torch. All other modes exceed the specs. Unfortunately, that includes thew Eco mode, which I measured at 36 Lumens rather then 20.

The Candela and Throw I measured indicate the same, as I actually measured more throw than indicated in the specs, except for Turbo.

A very interesting feature of the Wuben X1 driver is that the 4 main modes are programmable. The torch comes with the 3 lower modes set to their lowest values and High set at 2600 Lumens out of the 2000 to 3000 Lumens range. Each mode can be separately and steplessly adjusted to the value ranges indicated in the table below:

The programming is very easy. Turn the torch on to the mode you want to programme and then click and hold. The torch will steplessly ramp up from its current output to the maximum value for the selected mode and then start ramping down to the lowest value and repeat endlessly until the button is released. The output level at the moment the button is released is saved for that mode. The top and the bottom of the ramp are indicated by a flash.

Photometry

I took some photometry readings with an Opple Light Master Pro. The results are in the following table.

As shown in the table, the Cree XHP 70.2 emitters used in my sample have a CCT of between 5118K and 5464K, depending on the output, rather than the stated 6000K. They are also 80 CRI, instead of the expected 70 CRI, which is amazing! The DUV is, as expected, on the green side, but not by much and overall the quality of the light produced by the Wuben X1 is not at all bad for such a high output torch.

Here is a comparison photo of the Wuben X1 on the right and the Sofirn Q8 Pro on the left. The white balance was locked at 5500K.

Beam Profile

The beam pattern of Wuben X1 is very floody and, similarly to the torch front, rectangular. Even though I found that strange to begin with, it is actually quite usable as the light is directed where you need it and not at the sky.

Video Comparison

I compared the Wuben X1 with the Sofirn Q8 Pro, both on Turbo, in the following video. The distance from where I am standing to the end of the lane is 70m.

Driver

The Wuben X1 uses a buck driver that provides fully regulated output regardless of the voltage of the 2 Li-Ion cells in series that power it. It also features thermal regulation low voltage and over current protection.

There is PWM detected by the Opple Light Master Pro but it is definitely in the safe range and neither my eyes nor my camera can see it.

Here is what the camera saw:

Current Draw

The following table shows the current draw of the Wuben X1, using the included batteries.

Battery and Charging

The Wuben X1 utilizes 2 standard, non removable (officially), unprotected, flat top, 21700 Li-Ion batteries with a capacity rated at 4800mAh or 17.76Wh each, for a total of 35.52Wh. I measured the batteries in my charger and found one to have an internal resistance of 23mOhm and a capacity of 4862mAh and the other to have an internal resistance of 28mOhm and a capacity of 4979mAh. Clearly, the batteries included in the Wuben X1 are high quality.

The USB C to USB C cable provided is connected to the port under the rubber flap, for charging.

The indicator LED lights up red while charging and blue to indicate that the charging has been completed. If the charger used can support it, the Wuben X1 can charge via the Power Delivery protocol, at 9V 3A, in 2 hours.

Here is the indicator LED on the switch, while charging and when fully charged.

The following chart shows the charging of the Wuben X1 , after it had been depleted completely to the point where the torch turned itself off due to low voltage protection. Low voltage protection is triggered when the batteries in series drop to 6V, as the Wuben X1 uses a buck driver and 6V emitters. Indeed, I measured the batteries when the low voltage protection was triggered and found one at 3.02V and the other at 3.07V.

The charging lasted slightly less than the 2 hours promised and was completed in 1 hour, 57 minutes and 47 seconds. It required 40.3362Wh of energy.

The current reached a maximum of 3.042918A. At the end of the charging cycle, one battery was at 4.19V and the other at 4.17V.

Runtime Charts

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

The Wuben X1 is rated at a maximum of 12000 Lumens.

According to my measurements, the output at turn on was 10570 Lumens. It was at 10040 Lumens at 30 seconds (ANSI). The output started falling rapidly at 53 seconds, down to 2600 lumens at 1 minute and 15 seconds. It remained steady until the 1 hour, 58 minutes and 28 seconds mark, when the Wuben X1 turned off.

The temperature on the body was warm but not hard to hold without gloves.

The interesting part is that according to the specifications, the drop from turbo should have been to 3000 Lumens, which is the top value that High mode can be set at. Instead, it was 2600 Lumens, which is the default value for High mode.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

I also did the full runtime graph on High mode.

The Wuben X1 turned on at 2720 Lumens, was at 2710 Lumens at 30 seconds (ANSI) and slowly stabilized to 2640 Lumens, where it remained until the 2 hours, 2 minutes and 8 seconds mark, when it turned off.

Here are the first 10 minutes, in greater detail.

Now, as I said above, the fact that turbo dropped to 2600 Lumens instead of 3000 lumens raised some questions. So, of course, I had to investigate. I set high on its highest level of 3000 Lumens and run the test again. The results were the same. It seems that turbo will drop down to 2600 Lumens, regardless of the programming of the High mode.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the previous chart, in greater detail.

This raised a further question. Is the Wuben X1 able to sustain High at 3000 Lumens? Only one way to find out. I set High to maximum and ran a test.

The Wuben X1 turned on at 3150 Lumens, was at 3120 Lumens at 30 seconds (ANSI) and slowly declined to 3010 Lumens at 1 hour, 44 minutes and 15 seconds, when it turned off.

The temperatures were, as expected, the highest recorded in this test series, reaching about 55°C at the head and around 50°C at the body, making the torch difficult to hold with bare hands.

Therefore, it remains a mystery why Wuben chose to write in the specifications that the Wuben X1 will drop from turbo to 3000 Lumens, which, as demonstrated, it is capable of, but programmed it to drop to 2600 Lumens instead. Possibly a mistake, oversight or miscommunication between the engineers and the marketing department - we will never know.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the previous graph, in greater detail.

Conclusion

The Wuben X1 is a unique torch with an innovative design and excellent build quality. The rectangular shape makes it pocket friendly while maximizing its output capability and battery capacity. The machining is perfect, with no sharp edges, the fit is immaculate and the Micro-Arc Oxidation and Anodization are superb.

It utilizes a fully regulated buck driver with thermal regulation, over current protection and low voltage protection that provides stable output levels with no visible flickering. The driver is powered by 2 non removable (officially), high quality, unprotected, 21700 Li-Ion batteries in series.

The Wuben X1 uses 3 Cree XHP 70.2 emitters in a row. Even though the specs indicate that they should have a CCT of 6000K, the ones in my sample have a CCT of 5118K - 5464K, depending out output level, and an 80 CRI, which is amazing! The DUV was on the positive side, but not by much. Other reviewers have reported 70 CRI emitters, so not quite sure what to make of this. Maybe the emitter stock changed and I got lucky.

The torch utilizes a small fan, blowing air through the fins of an aluminium heat sink, to keep thermal under control and it seems to managing that exceptionally well, as it can sustain a stable output of over 3000 Lumens for the entire run time. The fan is audible but not annoying.

The button is slightly recessed and easy to find without gloves. It requires a force of about 500gr to press.

The charging took 01:57:47, which is slightly less than the 2 hours stated in the specifications.

The Wuben X1 is definitely a premium torch with premium features and, also, a premium price. At the time this review is published it can be purchased directly from the company's website at $199 for the white and $178 for the black variant. Is it worth the price? For the features and build quality, but most importantly for the form factor and portability, yes!

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Wuben X1:

Pros

+ Innovative, pocket friendly, rectangular design.

+ Intricate construction with perfect machining and no sharp edges.

+ Immaculate fit and finish.

+ Superb Anodization and Micro-Arc Oxidation.

+ Fully regulated buck driver with thermal regulation, over current protection and low voltage protection.

+ 80 CRI Cree XHP 70.2 emitters with a CCT of 5118K - 5464K.

+ Active cooling system.

+ Can sustain over 3000 Lumens for 1 hour and 45 minutes.

+ Output levels measured very close to specification, except turbo.

+ Throw and duration measured above specification, except turbo.

+ Fast USB C charging with Power Delivery.

+ Battery level and charging indicator LED.

+ 5 year warranty (even though the box erroneously states 1 year).

Cons

- The maximum output is 10570 Lumens instead of 12000 Lumens.

- Turbo drops to 2600 Lumens instead of 3000 Lumens.

- No moonlight mode.

- Only IP55 water proof rating.

- The box states a 1 year warranty even though the warranty on the website is clearly 5 years.

- Non removable (officially) batteries.

Thanks to Wuben for providing the sample for review

Polymeros Achaniotis 24/08/2023

Introduction

The evolution of the torch industry has been steadily driven by advances in LED and battery technologies and while innovation is definitely present, it is rarely ground-breaking. A torch is a usually cylindrical item, with a button or two to control it and a clear lens through which one of more LEDs shine.

Some torch companies though are more daring and innovative than others so when Wuben approached me to propose a review and I had a look at their inventory, I realized that it is definitely one of those companies.

Looking through their inventory, I chose the most unusual and interesting torch they make and I am going to review it for you today: The Wuben X2. The Wuben X2 comes in 3 different material choices: Aluminium, Copper or Titanium. The Aluminium is offered in 3 different anodization options while the Titanium in 4. It goes without saying that I picked the funkiest of the bunch, the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash.

But before taking a look at the torch, it is definitely worth it looking at the box that it comes in, as this unboxing is definitely a premium experience.

Unboxing

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash comes in a square white box with the company logo over a suspicious looking slit on the top and some basic model and company information on the back.

2 of the sides show only the model name while the 3rd includes some marketing quotes and the 4th has 2 QR codes that lead to the company web site and their Facebook group but most importantly states that the warranty period is 5 years, which is great.

The top of the box seems to be magnetically held in place and opens in the middle, offering a premium unboxing experience. The first thing to see is a white box that contains the user manual. The manual contradicts the box, stating that the warranty is only 1 year, but as their website also states a 5 year warranty, I feel confident in saying that the manual is wrong.

Under the manual we find the torch, protected in a soft nylon sleeve, and the accessories. There is also a yellow sticker explaining that the torch comes locked for shipping and how to unlock it.

The accessories are a red silicon diffuser and a lanyard. There are no spare o rings as the torch is not supposed to be opened by the user.

The lanyard is actually very interesting as its end can be removed to reveal that it is also a USB A to USB C charging cable. The observant among you, may also have noticed that one of the lanyard's sides is a metric measuring tape. Very nice Wuben!

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash is definitely unconventional and unique. Its rectangular shape maximizes pocket comfort and will not roll off the table. It is also nice to hold in the hand as all corners are chamfered and perfectly finished, with no sharp edges.

The Ink Splash colour scheme is definitely a riot and will get noticed!

The design includes several oblong grooves that can be filled with glow in the dark epoxy, as the company prompts on their website, if the user chooses so. There are also 4 slots on the top and 6 slots on the bottom of the torch for 6mm x 1.5mm tritium vials.

The bottom also features a very shapely and useful clip, which can be easily removed as it is held in place by 2 screws, but keep in mind that 4 of the slots for the tritium vials are actually on the clip. The top has a lanyard hole for the included - or any other (I was able to fit standard 4mm paracord through it with some effort) - lanyard, the operating button and the hidden charging port, which I will show you in a bit.

The sides are less eventful but still very nice to look at and include some shallow cooling fins.

The front end reveals 3 Samsung LH351D emitters in a row with a shallow, orange peel triple reflector while the rear end includes the serial number, the information that the battery capacity is 2000mAh and the warning to not disassemble. The torch is held together by 1.5mm hex screws and despite the warning can be taken apart (at the user's own risk) to service or replace the (proprietary) battery pack when it wears down in time.

The button at the top is an innovative approach as it consists of a hinged metal slab that presses down on a plastic button underneath and can be lifted to reveal the hidden USB C charging port and battery level / charging indicator light. Very nice!

The silicon diffuser can be placed over the lens to provide a diffused red light.

Build Quality and Finish

The build quality of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash is excellent. The machining is excellent, the fit is immaculate, the anodization is spectacular and perfect, there are no sharp edges and the product looks and feels premium in all respects - including the price.

Size Comparison

Here is the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash next to the Olight Baton Pro. The Baton Pro features a higher capacity battery but the shape of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash makes it more pocket friendly.

Specifications

The specifications of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash, as found on the company's website, are in the following table:

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash comes with the Samsung LH351D emitters that offer lower maximum output than the Osram P9 emitters but are warmer and high CRI, as opposed to the cooler and low CRI P9.

User Interface

The user interface of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash, as shown in the user manual, can be seen in the diagram below:

From Off:

• Click to turn on.
• Hold to turn on directly to low mode, regardless of the previous mode used.
• Double click to turn on directly to Turbo, regardless of the previous mode used.
• Triple click to turn on directly to strobe. Triple click again for SOS and triple click again to go back to strobe etc. Double click to go to Turbo.
• Quad click to lock the torch. The torch flashes 3 times to indicate it has been locked.

From On:

• Click to turn off.
• Hold to cycle through the main modes low, medium and high.
• Click and hold to programme current main mode (explained in Modes and Programming section).
• Double click to go to Turbo.
• Triple click to go to strobe. Triple click again for SOS, triple click again to go back to strobe etc. From there click to go to the previously used main mode (low, medium or high) or double click to go to Turbo.

From Locked:

• Quad click to unlock and turn on in low mode.
• Click, wait 0.5 sec, double click, wait 0.5sec, triple click to reset torch to factory default. The torch unlocks and turns on in low mode to indicate a successful factory reset.

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash features mode memory for the 3 main modes, low, medium and high. Turbo, strobe and SOS are not memorized and the memory mode cannot be turned off.

It also features an indicator LED near the bottom of the button. The LED lights as follows to indicate the battery level.

Modes - Programming

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash has 3 main modes (low, medium, high), a turbo mode and 2 flashing modes, strobe and SOS.

The output levels of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash can be seen in the following table. The numbers provided by Wuben are in black and my measurements are in orange.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

My Lumen measurements show that Wuben is quite honest in their specifications for the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash as my measured values are well within the margin of error from the provided values.

The Candela and Throw I measured indicate the same, as I actually measured them to be slightly higher than indicated in the specifications.

A very interesting feature of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash driver is that the 3 main modes are programmable. The torch comes with all 3 modes set to their lowest values but each mode can be separately and steplessly adjusted within the value ranges indicated in the table below:

The programming is very easy. Turn the torch on to the mode you want to programme and then click and hold. The torch will steplessly ramp up from its current output to the maximum value for the selected mode and then start ramping down to the lowest value and repeat endlessly until the button is released. The output level at the moment the button is released is saved for that mode. The top and the bottom of the ramp are indicated by a flash.

Photometry

I took some photometry readings with an Opple Light Master Pro. The results are in the following table.

As shown in the table, the Samsung LD351D emitters used in the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash have a CCT of around 4500K and a slightly negative Duv. In my eyes they seem quite neutral or slightly on the green side, and as both my eyes and the Opple Light Master Pro are not spectrometers, you can take that with a grain of salt.

In any case, here is a comparison photo of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash on the right and the Olight Baton Pro on the left. The white balance was locked at 5500K. It is obvious that the tint of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash is warmer and significantly more neutral than that of the Olight Baton Pro.

Beam Profile

The beam pattern of Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash is very floody and, similarly to the torch front, rectangular. Even though I found that strange to begin with, it is actually quite usable as the light is directed where you need it and not at the sky.

Video Comparison

I compared the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash with the Olight Baton Pro, both on turbo, in the following video. The distance from where I am standing to the end of the lane is 70m.

Driver

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash uses a buck driver that provides fully regulated output regardless of the voltage of the 2 Li-Ion cells in series that power it. It also features thermal regulation, low voltage and over current protection.

There is PWM detected by the Opple Light Master Pro but it is definitely in the safe range and neither my eyes nor my camera can see it. The only mode that seems to be pulsing at a low frequency is medium, but I still could not see any flickering.

Here is what the camera saw:

Battery and Charging

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash utilizes a proprietary, non removable (officially) battery pack, which incorporates 2 14500 Li-Ion batteries with a total capacity of 2000mAh.

The included lanyard doubles as a charging cable!

The USB C plug on one end of the lanyard plugs into the USB C charging port under the button of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash.

The indicator LED lights up red while charging and blue to indicate that the charging has been completed.

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash can also be charged with any other USB A to USB C or USB C to USB C charging cable and any 5V charger, including Power Delivery enabled chargers.

The following chart shows the charging of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash, after it had been depleted completely to the point where the torch turned itself off due to low voltage protection. The charging lasted less than the 3 hours declared in the specifications and was completed in 2 hours, 37 minutes and 31 seconds. It required 11.1245Wh of energy.

As the current draw never exceeded 1A, any 5V 1A charger can be used to charge the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash at full speed.

Runtime Charts

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash  utilizes Samsung LH351D emitters and is rated at a maximum output of 1800 Lumens.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

According to my measurements, the output at turn on was 1742 Lumens. Over the next 6 seconds it reached its maximum level at 1757 Lumens which is very close to the declared 1800 Lumens and definitely within the margin of error of my equipment. It was still at 1756 Lumens at 30 seconds (ANSI). The output started falling rapidly at 1 minute and 4 seconds, slightly exceeding the 1 minute declared in the specifications, down to about 700 lumens, which is lower than the 800 lumens declared in the specifications. It remained steady for about 1 hour and 17 minutes. It then started dropping and the torch turned off at 1 hour, 19 minutes and 12 seconds, exceeding the 1 hour declared in the specifications.

The Titanium construction of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash coupled with the use of high CRI emitters make for some high temperatures that reached up to almost 60°C at the head of the light. The button was also hot as it is located on the head of the torch but the body was quite comfortable to hold.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

I also did the full runtime graph on High.

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash turned on at 377 Lumens which is very close to the declared 400. It was quite steady, dropping very gradually to 367 Lumens at 2 hours, 56 minutes and 38 seconds. It then declined faster to turn off at 2 hours, 58 minutes and 10 seconds, exceeding the 2.5 hours declared in the specs.

Here are the first 10 minutes, in greater detail.

Conclusion

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash is a unique EDC torch with an innovative design and excellent build quality. The rectangular shape makes it pocket friendly while maximizing its output capability and battery capacity. The machining of the Titanium is perfect, with no sharp edges, the fit is immaculate and the anodization is superb.

It utilizes a fully regulated buck driver with thermal regulation, over current and low voltage protection that provides stable output levels with no visible flickering. The driver is powered by a non removable, proprietary battery pack consisting of 2 14500 Li-Ion cells in series.

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash uses 3 Samsung LH351D emitters in a row with a CCT of 4500K, providing about 1800 Lumens of high CRI output at a neutral Duv. The beam profile is rectangular and very usable.

The button is a bit mushy and less clicky than I would like it but it gave me no issues whatsoever. It lifts to reveal the USB C charging port. The charging took 02:37:31, which is less than the 3 hours stated in the specifications and a good balance to ensure the longevity of the battery pack.

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash includes 10 slots for 6mm x 1.5mm tritium vials which can decorate the torch and make it easy to locate in the dark.

The Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash is a premium torch with premium features and, also, a premium price. For the month of May 2023, it can be purchased directly from the company's website at a 20% discount, for $246.40. On top of that, you can use the coupon code WUBENHB15 for an additional 15% discount, bringing the price down to $209.44.

Is the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash worth the cost? For the features, material, funky anodization and build quality, definitely! But for the readers that want the features, quality and form factor but do not care for Titanium or the fancy anodization, there is also the Aluminium version that starts at $78.40, with the 20% discount, and using the coupon code WUBENHB15 brings the price down to $66.64.

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Wuben X2 Titanium Ink Splash:

Pros

+ Innovative, pocket friendly, rectangular design.

+ Titanium construction with perfect machining and no sharp edges.

+ Immaculate fit and finish.

+ Superb anodization.

+ Fully regulated buck driver with thermal regulation, over current protection and low voltage protection.

+ High CRI Samsung LH351D emitters with a CCT of 4500K and neutral Duv.

+ Output levels measured very close to specification.

+ Throw and duration measured slightly above specification.

+ USB C charging port hidden under the button.

+ Battery level and charging indicator LED.

+ The included lanyard is also a charging cable and a measuring tape.

+ 10 6mm x 1.5mm tritium vial slots.

+ Red silicone diffuser included.

+ IP68.

Cons

- No moonlight mode.

- Low PWM frequency on medium.

- Non removable (officially) proprietary battery pack.

- Mushy button.

Thanks to Wuben for providing the sample for review

Polymeros Achaniotis 23/05/2023

Introduction

No matter how you approach it, the marketing claims of the Acebeam X75 are fascinating. Not only do they promise a maximum brightness of 80.000 lumens, which makes it the 2nd most powerful production torch in the world, but also the highest sustainable output, which is indubitably much more useful and important. Couple that with the top level design, build quality and electronics of Acebeam, add the 100W USB C charging and 100W Power Bank capabilities and you have a truly amazing torch.

My only issue when I was offered a review sample was which emitter option to choose from. Acebeam offers the Acebeam X75 with 3 emitter choices:

• The Cree XHP70.2 6500K, which provide the maximum output of 80.000 Lumens.
• The Cree XHP70.2 5000K, which provide a more neutral tint, at the cost of a slight decrease in brightness, reducing it to 75.000 Lumens.
• The Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K, which provide the highest intensity of 426.409 Candela and a throw of 1306m, at the cost of a reduced brightness of 67.000 Lumens.

I was divided between the 1st and 3rd option. Should I go with for the maximum brightness or the maximum intensity?

Then it occurred to me that if I found it hard to decide, so must many others that are looking to purchase the Acebeam X75 . There was only one thing to do and that was to get both. Welcome to the Acebeam X75 XHP70.2 6500K vs XHP70.3 HI 6500K Comparative Review!

Unboxing

The Acebeam X75 comes in a white and orange box. The front of the box features a photograph of the torch and highlights some of its main features, such as the 60W (with the standard charger) or 100W (with the optional charger) Power Delivery 3.0 USB C charging. the Power Bank function, the Mechanical Lock feature and the Air Duct cooling system. The warranty period is indicated as 5 years.

The back side of the box does not offer any information on specifications, but rather the company address, a few QR coded links and the usual certification logos.

The top and bottom of the box has nothing special to show, except a nice, bright orange colour. The top is plain while the bottom has 1 or 2 bar codes.

One of the sides features the company logo while the other shows the chosen options of colour and emitters.

The Acebeam X75 comes in 2 finish options:

• Type-III Hard Anodized Oxidation, in black colour.
• Micro Arc Oxidation, which is an amazing off-white colour.

The 3 emitter options, as mentioned before, are:

• Cree XHP70.2 6500K, with a brightness of 80.000 lumens and a throw of 1150m.
• Cree XHP70.2 5000K, with a brightness of 75.000 lumens and a throw of 1082m.
• Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K, with a brightness of 67.000 lumens and a throw of 1306m.

You can get the black finish with any of the 3 emitter options but the white is only offered with the Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K emitters.

The box closure is magnetic. Upon opening it, you are greeted with a lot of packing material, protecting the torch, a yellow card and a white box. You can already glimpse that the torch on the left is black while the torch on the right is white.

The yellow card is a quick start guide, explaining how to remove the insulating film between the battery pack and the driver before the first use and including some safety and usage instructions. As for the white box...

...it contains all the accessories and documentation. The documentation consists of the manual and the warranty card, while the accessories include the charging cable, charger (in a plastic white bag), adapter (if you are outside the US - here the UK adapter is shown), 2 little bags of accessories and a silicone cover for the head of the torch.

Some of you may have noticed that the latter is only in the second photo. That is because the black torch came with the silicone cover installed, while the white torch came with it in the accessories box.

The smaller of the 2 little bags contains 2 small screws, 2 larger screws, 2 large round O-rings, one small rectangle O-ring and a torx wrench that fits both types of screws..

The larger of the 2 little white bags contains a spare fan. It is an Acebeam branded DC brushless fan, which operates at 5V and draws 0.2A (so it has a power rating of 1W). It is frameless and has an apparent special construction.

The Acebeam X75 comes with a 60W Power Deliver charger as standard, but you can get it with the optional 100W charger for an added cost of $47.90. I opted for the latter and did not regret it.

The 100W charger has 3 USB C ports and 1 USB A Port. You can see their output specs in the 2nd photo.

The foldable prongs are compatible with US power outlets. UK or EU adapters can be applied and are provided, according to the region of the buyer.

The black Acebeam X75 comes with the silicone cover installed while the white (MAO) one comes in a protective nylon bag, without the silicone cover, which as we saw is in the accessory box.

Let's take the torches out and install the silicone cover on the white one as well.

The Acebeam X75 is a large soda can style torch, with non-removable or, more precisely, necessary for operation handle as the operating buttons are on the handle itself, which is very convenient.

The silicone cover protects the front of the torch and has holes for the cooling fins that it covers. Not only does it protect the torch, but also the user from accidental burns resulting from contact with the hottest part of the torch during operation.

The silicone cover also provides information, as it changes colour when its temperature exceeds 55°C.

Let's remove the silicone covers to really show off the beautiful design of the Acebeam X75.

The crenulated bezel is made of stainless steel and is black in both finishes. So are the buttons and the screws. Everything else is made of Aluminium and is either black or off-white, depending on the chosen finish. The head is thicker than the battery tube and the deep fins provide cooling surface.

There are openings all around the head to allow for air flow, as there is a cooling fan and a copper heat sink inside the torch!

The handles feature 2 operation buttons and a Mechanical Lock switch.

There are airflow holes at the rear of the head as well. Opposite the handle, there is a UNC 1/4" socket for mounting the Acebeam X75 on a tripod.

To the left of the handle there is a pressure release valve, to relieve pressure in case something goes wrong with the battery pack and pressurised gases are released. To the right of the handle, there is an indication LED.

The tail of the torch is flat and allows it to tail stand. You can unscrew and remove the tail cap to reveal the charging port. The battery pack capacity is 61.2Wh.

The front of the Acebeam X75 is impressive, with 12 shallow, orange peel reflectors housing the 12 emitters. Let's remove the protective film and have a closer look!

The 1st photo shows one of the Cree XHP70.2 6500K emitters that are in the black sample and the 2nd one of the Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K emitters that are in the white sample. As you can see, both are 4 die emitters, which makes the Acebeam X75 a 48 LED die torch! The Cree XHP70.2 is a domed emitter while the Cree XHP70.3 HI is dome-less and has a smaller die area, which explains both the lower brightness and the higher intensity (and therefore throw).

To keep the heat generated by all those emitters under control, a copper heat sink can be glimpsed through the head fins. But I will elaborate on the cooling system later.

Under the tail cap there are written specifications and instructions, 2 indicator LEDs and a recessed reset switch.

The USB C port is on the side, inside the threads of the tail cap.

Although I can see the simplicity and reliability of this design, I do not like it. The tail cap feels too generic and non-luxurious when removed, especially when compared with the high end feeling of the Acebeam X75 in general. But the real issue is practical. Not only can the tail cap be damaged or lost, but also the grease in the threads got on my hands and smeared everything a few times before I got used to the notion and became mindful enough. A tail cap system such as the ones used in the Olight X7R or Olight Marauder 2 would have been nicer. An exposed, water proof USB C port, such as the ones used in high end mobile phones would have been even better.

The battery pack unscrews from the head as expected. There is an insulating film that needs to be removed before use. The driver is covered, except for a hefty, spring loaded contact point in the middle, which corresponds with the equivalently hefty positive terminal in the centre of the battery pack.

The threads are square cut, well greased and smooth.

Build Quality and Finish

The build quality of the Acebeam X75 is outstanding. The fit is perfect and both the Type-III Hard Anodization (black) and the Micro Arc Oxidation (off-white) finishes are flawless. 

Cooling System

The cooling system of the Acebeam X75 is the best I have ever seen in any torch. Not only is it the best, but also user serviceable, which is an amazing feature.

Removing the 4 torx screws that hold the handle in place is very easy, using the provided torx key. The handle comes out, revealing the copper heat sink that cools the head of the torch.

Here we can see the copper heat sink, as well as the 5 contact points that transfer the control commands from the handle buttons to the driver of the torch and power to the fan. The heat sink can be cleaned by the user.

The contact points correspond with the 5 pogo pins on the handle. The connection is insulated by a rectangle O-ring, for which a spare is provided, as we saw earlier.

The fan can also be cleaned by the user and even replaced with the spare one provided if it fails. 2 small screws must be removed with the provided torx key to replace the fan. Spare screws are provided, as we saw, both for the smaller fan screws and the larger handle screws, so if the user drops and loses one, it is not a problem.

The Acebeam X75 features intelligent thermal control. This means that not only does the fan not work all the time, but even when it does, it adjusts its speed according to the temperature of the driver.

Size Comparison

The Acebeam X75 is on the large end of the spectrum for soda can type torches. There are of course much larger torches out there and taking into account its Lumen output, the Acebeam X75 is quite compact for the power it packs. That said, it is by no means a torch you can put in a large jacket pocket.

Here is the Acebeam X75 between the Olight Marauder 2 and the Sofirn Q8 Pro.

Specifications

The specifications of the Acebeam X75 with Cree XHP70.2 6500K emitters can be seen in the following table:

The specifications of the Acebeam X75 with Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K emitters can be seen in the following table:

I really like the fact that so much information is given on output, intensity, throw and run times, on all settings. Very few companies are so transparent about the specifications of their products. It is clear from the specifications that the Cree XHP70.2 6500K emitters offer higher output...

…while the Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K emitters offer higher intensity and throw.

Other than that, the 2 samples are exactly the same, except for the finish, of course.

The Acebeam X75 is IP68 standard waterproof and can be submerged to 2m.

User Interface

The user interface of the Acebeam X75 is simple and intuitive. It is based on a dual switch design and a Mechanical Lock. The Mechanical Lock is disengaged on the black torch and engaged on the white one, in the following photo. When the Mechanical Lock is engaged, the switches cannot be physically pressed.

The front, bigger switch is the Auxiliary Switch and the rear, smaller switch is the Main Switch. The Main Switch is raised higher and therefore easy to differentiate by feel.

The following diagrams explain the operation of the Acebeam X75 in detail.

The user interface of the Acebeam X75, in my own words, is as follows:

Main Switch 

• From Off
  • Click to turn on (with memory for the 4 main modes, Low, Med1, Med2 and High).
  • Click and hold to turn on at Ultra-Low mode.
  • Double click to turn on at Turbo
  • Triple click for Strobe.

• From On
  • Click to turn off.
  • Hold to cycle through the main modes (Low, Med1 ,Med2, High). You can do that even from Ultra-Low, Turbo or Strobe.
  • Double click for Turbo. Double click again to return to previous mode.
  • Triple click for Strobe. Click to turn off, click and hold to cycle through the main modes or double click for Turbo. From Turbo, double click to return to previous (before Strobe) mode. There is no way to go directly from Strobe to a previous, non Turbo mode.

Auxiliary Switch

• From Off
  • Press momentarily to manually stop the fan if it is running.
  • Press and hold for 3 seconds to turn the Fan Mode (Windy Mode) on or off. This is indicated by 3 flashes of the indicator LED on the right of the handle. Green for on, red for off.
  • Click 10 times to switch between Power and Eco mode. Power mode is indicated by the main emitters turning on for a moment and getting brighter. Eco mode is indicated by the main emitters turning on for a moment and getting dimmer. The Acebeam X75 ships in Eco mode.

• From On
  • Click and hold for momentary Turbo.

The buttons feel a bit mushy but are easy to use and of high quality. The mushy feeling is caused by the mechanics involved in having a Mechanical Lock that can block the pressing of the switches.

Modes

The output levels of the Acebeam X75 can be seen in the following table. The numbers provided by Acebeam are in black and my measurements are in orange.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

My Lumen measurements show that the Turbo output of both emitter types do not reach the specs but are still very impressive. The Cree XHP70.2 6500K are up to or even slightly above specs in Lumen output on all modes except Turbo. The Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K have lower Lumens output than specs on all modes. It seems like Acebeam just copied the lower mode numbers from the Cree XHP70.2 6500K specs but of course the Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K will be a bit lower.  

The Candela and Throw I measured are also lower than specs in all modes, but again impressive for these floody beams. The Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K is the stronger emitter in this category.

The following graph shows the lumen output on all modes for both emitters. The Cree XHP70.2 is more powerful on all modes.

And this graph shows the throw on all modes for both emitters. The Cree XHP70.3 HI throws further on all modes.

So, what will you choose, Lumen output or throw? For me, both emitters have more than enough of both. It is just a matter of which feature you favour the most.

Photometry

I took some photometry readings with an Opple Light Master Pro. The results are in the following table.

The CCT of both emitter types is quite similar and start around 5500K in Ultra-Low to gradually rise to around 6200K on Turbo.

The Δuv of the 2 emitter types is different though, with the Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K having a higher Δuv on all modes and therefore a greener tint. Both emitter types are above BBL on the lower 5 modes but as the output rises they get closer to neutral and go below BBL on Turbo.

Here is a photo of the tint in Ultra-Low, where it is the greenest. The Cree XHP70.2 6500K is on the left and the Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K on the right. The photo was taken with a manual white balance of 5500K.

Beam Profile

The beam pattern of both emitter types in the Acebeam X75 is very floody but there is a definite, albeit small difference in intensity and beam angle.

Video Comparison - Drone footage

For the video comparison of the Cree XHP70.2 versus the Cree XHP70.3 HI version of the Acebeam X75, I enlisted the help of the excellent photographer and videographer Daniel Beacock and his drone. We tested the two versions of the Acebeam X75 over distances of 191m and 470m.

Here are some revealing frames from the video:

And here are the same stills, in animated GIF format.

Driver

The driver of the Acebeam X75 is a digitally regulated, constant current boost driver, which takes the 14.4V from the battery pack and delivers 24V to the emitter array. Both emitter types are 6V, so they are arranged in 3 parallel banks of 4 emitters in a row to work with the 24V that the driver provides. This arrangement should be able to maintain constant brightness regardless of the battery voltage. The driver also features smart temperature control. Large copper heatsinks and thermal pads provide the thermal path to the main copper heatsink. Very refreshing to see such a high quality driver.

There is no PWM, detected or visible, in any of the modes.

Battery Pack and Charging

The Acebeam X75 comes with a proprietary battery pack. This is unappealing for many users but necessary when you are dealing with this kind of configuration of 4 21700 high output batteries in series. The battery pack supports Power Delivery charging at 60W or 100W and also Power Bank functionality at the same power levels.

The charger that comes as standard with the Acebeam X75 can provide 60W but it is possible to upgrade to a 100W charger for an added cost of $47.90. I opted to test the 100W charger. The supported modes are listed on the charger itself.

Theoretically, C1 and C2 should be the same, but in reality they do not support all the same protocols.

Here are the protocols supported by C1, C2 and C3 respectively.

And here are the Power Delivery output modes supported by C1, C2 and C3 respectively. Both C1 and C2 can be equally used to charge the Acebeam X75 at 100W but if you want to charge other devices, C2 supports the most protocols, including a set of PPS in Power Delivery.

These are the modes supported (in green) by the USB A port.

The cable provided is 1m long and of very high quality. It supports 100W (20V, 5A), as expected, but also supports transfer speeds of up to 20Gbps, which is a pleasant surprise.

The specifications of the battery pack are shown in the table below.

To charge it, you must remove the tail cap and plug in the USB C cable.

The right indicator LED turns red to indicate charging. The left indicator LED turns blue to indicate that the Power Delivery protocol is being used.

The right indicator LED turns Green to indicate that the charging is complete.

The following chart shows the charging of the battery pack with the 100W charger, after it had been depleted completely to the point where the torch turned itself off at 11.62V. The charging starts at 3.6W for about 10 minutes and then jumps to 100W for about half an hour. Then it gradually declines until the charging is completed at a total charging time of about 1 hour. This charging process used a total of 65.44Wh while the battery pack is rated at 61.2Wh, which is very good charging efficiency. The voltage of the battery pack at the end of charging was 16.73V.

When used as a Power Bank, the battery pack supports Power Deliver 3.0 up to 100W, with PPS.

As shown below, it can provide power at 100W for about 30 minutes. The total energy provided in this scenario was 50.24Wh and the voltage of the battery pack at the end was 12.88V. This means that the battery pack was not completely depleted and could still operate the torch, at the lower levels, but it did not have enough power to be able to provide 100W output.

The charging of the battery pack after it has been used in Power Bank mode as above is shown in the following chart. The charging took 49 minutes and used 61.5Wh. The efficiency of the battery pack as a Power Bank is therefore 50.24Wh / 61.5Wh = 82% which is very good.

Runtime Charts

The Acebeam X75 has Power and Eco modes, which differ mainly on how it handles thermals, or in other words on the temperature the driver tries to keep itself below. It also has a Fan On mode (which Acebeam calls Windy mode) and a Fan Off mode (which Acebeam calls Non-Wind mode). I want to make it clear that the Fan On mode does not mean that the fan is running all the time. On the contrary, the fan is temperature controlled and will run only when and at the speed that is needed.

I decided to only test the Acebeam X75 in Fan On mode, as I do not see the point of disabling the fan on such a powerful torch. The torch will still work safely without the fan, as it will regulate itself thermally but as the specs show, it will be severely crippled in high output duration. And to be blunt, I do not see a possible need for aural stealth when you are producing over 60.000 Lumens of light.

The first chart shows the full runtime of both emitter options in Power Mode, on Turbo. All the details are noted on the chart.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above chart, in greater detail.

The following chart shows the full runtime of both emitter options in Eco Mode, on Turbo. All the details are noted on the chart.

I was initially surprised by the fact that the maximum output of the Cree XHP70.2 6500K emitters is higher in Eco mode than in Turbo mode. So, I verified it several times and it is consistent. The only possible explanation is that the limiting factor of the maximum output for the Cree XHP70.2 6500K emitters is the level of power that the battery pack can provide and that the extra power draw of the fan may be limiting the maximum output on Turbo. Of course the fan is only rated at 0.2A, which means that should not be significant. It would be interesting to see how a larger battery pack, with 2 parallel banks of 4 21700 batteries in a row would work with this torch. I am not sure if I would prefer to carry the extra size and weight in order to gain the extra run time and possible extra output, if any, but I would definitely like to have the option. Acebeam may oblige in the near future (wink - wink).

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above graph, in greater detail.

I also did the full runtime graph on High, for both Power and Eco modes. No surprises here.

High in Power mode is the most impressive achievement of this torch, as the sustained output at this level is unrivalled by any other torch in the world! Most impressive!

Here are the first 10 minutes, in greater detail.

Even in Eco mode, the sustained output on High is impressive.

Here are the first 10 minutes of High output in Eco mode, in greater detail.

Finally, I proceeded to test Med2 and realised that at this output of 10.000 lumens, there is no difference between Power and Eco modes  as the fan hardly ever turned on, at very low speeds. So here is the full Runtime graph for Med2. This is definitely a very useful mode, as it will provide around 10.000 Lumens for an impressive 55 minutes!

Conclusion

The Acebeam X75 is a very impressive torch. It is the second most powerful torch in the world in maximum brightness and the unrivalled first in sustained high output. It has the best cooling system ever implemented on a torch, which is also user serviceable and it features an intuitive user interface, with Mechanical Lock and the control buttons placed on the very comfortable handle.

The design is beautiful and the machining of the host is intricate with no imperfections or sharp edges. Both the black Type-III Hard Anodization and the off-white Micro Arc Oxidation finishes are impeccable!

The driver is a fully regulated boost driver which provides 24V for the 3 banks of 4 in a row 6V emitters . It features constant current output without measurable or visible PWM on any of the modes. The Cree XHP70.2 6500K emitters provide the highest Lumen output while the Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K provide the highest intensity and throw, at the cost of some lost Lumens. That said, they both have plenty of Lumen output and throw and are both just as impressive. The choice is yours, depending on which feature you prioritize. I intend to keep both but I would very much like to see which one you prefer, so leave a comment to let me know.

The proprietary battery pack will probably be considered a disadvantage by some users, but realistically you cannot have a safe, high output battery pack of 4 balanced, high drain 21700 Li-Ion cells that can charge at a rate of 100W, provide Power Bank output of 100W and power such a powerful torch without it being a sealed device. The battery pack will charge in 1.5 hours using the included 60W charger or in just 1 hour using the optional 100W charger, which will set you back an extra $47.90. Well worth it, in my opinion, as it is a great quality PD 3.0 charger that you can use to power most of your other devices, including phones and laptops.

The most negative thing I have to say about the Acebeam X75 is the location of its charging port, which is under the removable tail cap and inside the threads. Even though this design is indubitably very robust in its simplicity, the removable tail cap feels less luxurious that the rest of the Acebeam X75 and it could be lost or damaged while removed. But the most important issue with the design is that having the USB C socket inside the greased threads caused me to smear the grease on my hands and subsequently all over the torch several times, before I got used to the idea and became mindful enough to avoid doing so.

Another thing I would have liked is a lower output mode, as the lowest mode, named Ultra-Low, is actually 900 Lumens. I would have loved an indoor friendly mode that could light up the inside of a room or tent and last for a very long time. Unfortunately, making a driver that is very efficient at high output levels, means that you lose the ability to have very low output levels.

How much will the torch with the highest sustainable output in the world set you back? Well, less than I expected to he honest. The price starts at $399.90 for the black Type-III Hard Anodization finish with Cree XHP70.2 6500K emitters and the 60W charger. You can add $47.90 if you want to upgrade to the 100W charger and $45 if you prefer the Cree XHP70.3 HI emitters. The off-white Micro Arc Oxidation finish is $30 extra, but only comes with the XHP70.3 HI emitters, so you have to factor that into the price as well.

Therefore, the cheapest configuration available is the black Type-II Hard Anodization with Cree XHP70.2 6500K emitters and 60W charger, at $399.90 and the most expensive configuration available is the off-white Micro Arc Oxidation with (compulsory) Cree XHP70.3 HI 6500K and (optional) 100W charger at $522.80.

The prices may seem high to some, but actually the cost per Lumen is lower than most high power torches in the market at this point and that is not even taking into account the excellent quality and high end electronics.

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Acebeam X75:

Pros

+ Highest sustainable output in the world!

+ The best active cooling solution ever implemented in a torch!

+ 2nd highest output in the world.

+ Digitally regulated constant current boost driver which provides stable output and high efficiency (up to 98%) with no PWM.

+ User serviceable cooling system.

+ Excellent fit and finish in either black Type-III Hard Anodization or optional off-white Micro Arc Oxidation.

+ USB type C 60W or 100W charging.

+ 100W Power Bank functionality with measured 82% efficiency.

+ Low Voltage Protection.

+ Smart Temperature Control.

+ Simple and intuitive User Interface with Mechanical Lock and buttons on the handle.

+ Replacement fan, extra screws, extra O-Rings and torx wrench provided.

+ Silicone protective cover with temperature indication.

+ Excellent quality 100W Power Delivery 3.0 charger (optional) or 60W charger (included).

+ Excellent quality 1m 100W (20V, 5A) USB C cable provided, with transfer speed capability of up to 20Gbps.

+ IP68.

Cons

- Removable Tail Cap.

- USB C charging port in the threads of the Tail Cap.

- A mode that is lower than 900 Lumens would be useful.

Thanks to Acebeam for providing the samples for review

Polymeros Achaniotis 15/11/2022

Introduction

It's been more than a year since I reviewed the excellent Acebeam E70 and Acebeam E70 Ti CRI95+ and in the meantime Acebeam released a mini version, which is easier to EDC but seems to be just as impressive. Being partial to Titanium, despite its thermal inefficiency, I decided to review the Titanium version of the light, the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti.

The design of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is almost identical to its larger predecessor, but as you will see there are some key differences.

Unboxing

The Acebeam E70 Mini Ti comes in a white box with a clear window that allows a view of the light.

The back side of the box does not offer any more information or specifications, but rather the company address, a few QR coded links and the usual certification logos.

The top and bottom of the box are plain white, so nothing to show. One of the longer sides emphasizes the 5 year warranty while the other features the company logo.

Inside the box we find the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti nested in protective clear plastic.

The accessories include a USB A to USB C charging cable, 2 spare O-rings and a lanyard. The leaflets include the manual, a warranty card and a yellow card picturing that the battery is in the light and the insulation sheet needs to be removed before use and also showing the operating instructions.

One side of the manual leaflet is in Chinese and the other is in English. Here is the English side.

And this is the warranty card.

The Acebeam E70 Mini Ti features the same design as the E70, which is very harmonious and pleasing to the eye.

The bezel is crenulated and the head features alternating circular and oblong designs, which work well together. The 6 oblong grooves can accommodate 6mm x 1.5mm tritium vials.

The body of the torch features a helix design, with cut outs revealing the inner tube and creating a beautiful visual effect. It also features 6 oblong grooves where it connects to the head that can accommodate 6mm x 1.5mm tritium vials.

The tail part of the tube features tapped holes where the clip comes pre-attached. The clip is made of steel and anodized blue, like the inner tube. 

There are 3 sections at the back end of the body. One with the clip installed, one with tapped holes, where the clip could be moved to - no idea why though - and one with bigger holes, where the lanyard can be installed. Installing the lanyard is not easy and requires thin tweezers.

In total, the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti features an intricate design which looks quite busy but still harmonious and pleasing to the eye. The machining of such a design is not an easy feat, especially in Titanium and with the level of detail and quality we see here.

The business end of the torch comes with a protective plastic film, which must be removed before use.

Under the protective film, we can see a Carclo optic, covering the 3 emitters. Yes, unlike its larger predecessor, the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is a triple.

The back end of the torch is quite simple. It is where the stainless steel, blue anodized switch for the operation of the torch is located. I like the simple, recessed design of the switch which allows the torch to tail stand and helps to protect from accidental activation. Clicking the switch is both easy and satisfying, without too much resistance but with adequate feedback.

The head and body unscrew to reveal that the battery ships inside the light, with the positive terminal insulated for safety. The threads are thick, square cut and nicely lubricated, but still rather gritty.

The battery is an Acebeam branded 18650 Li-Ion battery, rated at 3100mAh and it features a USB C charging port near the positive terminal.

Both battery contacts feature thick, good quality springs. Having springs on both ends makes the torch resilient to bumps and drops, as the battery is suspended between two springs under pressure and is not likely to momentarily disconnect and turn the light off.

As mentioned before, there is an inner tube, as the light features an electronic switch at the back and both the negative terminal of the battery and the switch need to be connected to the driver. On the driver end, there are two concentric contact rings. The outer ring contacts the outer tube of the tail part and connects to the battery negative and the inner ring connects to the inner tube and transfers the switch presses. The spring in the middle of the driver makes direct contact with the positive terminal of the battery.

Installing tritium vials is pretty straight forward, as the grooves are perfectly sized and deep enough.

Quality

The machining quality of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is very high. Even at close inspection, there are no flaws.

No edge is sharp, not a single spot less than perfectly milled. This is indeed a top quality light.

Specifications

The specifications of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti can be seen in the following table:

Unlike the E70, the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti comes only in a high CRI option, utilizing 3 Nichia 519a emitters at 5000K. Despite being high CRI, the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti claims a maximum output of 1500 Lumens (the aluminium version goes even higher, at 2000 Lumens) and a throw of 140m.

The high CRI emitters render colours much more naturally and make everything look more vibrant and pleasing to the eye.

The Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is water and dust proof in accordance with IP68 specs, which makes it submersible to 2m. It is also impact resistant up to 1m.

User Interface

The user interface of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is simple and intuitive.

Despite featuring a recessed button, and a lock mode, a double click is required to turn the light on. This prevents accidental activation of unlocked lights and protects even the most careless of users from accidental activations, which could be disastrous with such a powerful light.

The included card has detailed instructions on the user interface.

The user interface of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti, in my own words, is as follows:

• From Off
  • Double click to turn on (with memory for the 4 main modes), click again to turn off.
  • Click and hold from off to turn on at  Moonlight mode. Keep holding until if flashes three times to lock the light. Click and hold again to unlock into Moonlight mode.
  • Triple click for Strobe. Click to turn off, click and hold to go to low and cycle through the main modes or double click for Turbo.
• From On
  • Click to turn off.
  • Hold to cycle through the main modes (Low, Mid1 ,Mid2, High).
  • Double click for Turbo. Double click again to return to previous mode.
  • Triple click for Strobe. Click to turn off, click and hold to cycle through the main modes or double click for Turbo. From Turbo, double click to return to previous (before Strobe) mode. There is no way to go directly from Strobe to a previous, non Turbo mode.

Modes

The output of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti can be seen in the following table. In black are the output numbers provided by Acebeam and in orange are my measurements. My Lumen measurements show that Ultra-Low, Low and Turbo are spot on while Mid1, Mid 2 and High are a bit lower than spec. Of course, my enthusiast amateur equipment is far from accurate and can easily be up to 10% off, so take this with a grain of salt.

The Candela and Throw I measured are significantly lower than claimed, but still very respectable for a floody EDC torch.

Size Comparison

Size wise, the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is as expected for a triple 18650 powered torch with inner tube and tail switch. It is of course larger than the single emitter Olight Warrior Mini which solves the tail switch signal transfer issue with a proprietary battery rather than an inner tube and is therefore very compact.

Photometry

I took some photometry readings with an Opple Light Master Pro. The results are in the following table.

The Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is consistently warmer than the claimed 5000K, which is nice and the CRI is definitely higher than 90. The Duv is a little above BBL, fairly neutral albeit slightly on the green side on all modes except Turbo where it dips below BBL and becomes nicely rosy.

That said, it is quite a nice tint and much more pleasant than the tint of the Olight Warrior Mini, even on Low, where the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is at its greenest. The photo below was taken with the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti on Low and the white balance locked at 5500K.

Beam Profile

The beam pattern of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is as expected from 3 Nichia 519a emitters behind a Carclo optic. It is quite uniform and floody, with a well defined, large hot spot and a lot of spill.

Beam Shots

I tested the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti outside, over a distance of 70m.

The following video shows a comparison of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti with the Olight Warrior Mini Winter. The two torches have the same maximum output of 1500 Lumens, are both made of Titanium and have roughly the same cost. The Warrior Mini has a narrower beam profile, with more throw and is much greener and low CRI.

Driver

The driver of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is a digitally regulated, constant current boost driver, which powers the 3 in a row Nichia 519a emitters and should be able to maintain constant brightness regardless of the battery voltage. It features smart temperature control, reverse polarity protection and low voltage protection. Very refreshing to see such a high quality driver.

There is no visible PWM in any of the modes.

Current Draw

The following table shows the current draw of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti, using the included battery.

Battery and Charging

The battery included with the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is a 18650, rated at 3100mAh and features onboard USB C charging.

The specifications of the Acebeam ARC18650H-310A with built-in USB port, as shown on the company's website, are listed in the following table:

I measured the capacity of the battery at exactly 3046mAh which just shy of the 3100mAh rated capacity. The battery's internal resistance was measured at 31mΩ. The light has Low Voltage Protection and turns off when the battery voltage drops to 2.74V.

Charging the Acebeam ARC18650H-310A with built-in USB port is very easy. Just connect the provided cable or any other USB C cable to the charging port and its other end to a charger. Both USB A to USB C and USB C to USB C cables can be used as well as any charger, including the ones that support PD. This is very convenient as you can charge the Acebeam ARC18650H-310A with built-in USB port with any USB C cable and charger you have at hand. The LED on the battery lights up red to indicate that it is charging and turns green when the charging is completed, at 4.19V.

The Acebeam ARC18650H-310A with built-in USB port took 2 hours, 30 minutes and 22 seconds to charge from 2.74V to 4.19V. The maximum current drawn was 1.3708A, which is great for a 18650 battery.

Runtime Charts

The Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is rated at a maximum of 1500 Lumens.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

According to my measurements, the maximum output (at turn on) was 1525 Lumens, which slightly exceeds the declared 1500 Lumens. ANSI output (at 30 seconds) was 1385 Lumens and the gradual output decline continued down to 1295 Lumens at 1 minute and 8 seconds. It then declined rapidly over the next 13 seconds to 314 Lumens and quickly recovered a bit to 326 Lumens, where it stayed very stable for 2 hours 45 minutes and 12 seconds. Then it dropped to 149 Lumens for  8 minutes and 28 seconds and then to 62 Lumens for 15 minutes and 46 seconds. Finally, it dropped to 25 Lumens for a further 55 minutes and 7 seconds, before it turned off.

The titanium construction of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti coupled with the use of high CRI emitters make for some high temperatures that momentarily reached up to almost 65°C at the head of the light. Thankfully the same poor thermal properties of Titanium kept the body relatively cool, at below 43°C throughout the runtime test.

Here are the first 10 minutes of the Turbo Runtime Chart, in greater detail.

The behaviour of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is similar on High mode. Here is the full Runtime Chart on High mode.

And here are the first 10 minutes of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti High mode Runtime Chart, in greater detail.

Conclusion

The Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is a light that emphasizes quality.

The machining of the Titanium host is intricate with no imperfections or sharp edges. The driver is fully regulated and provides constant current output without any visible PWM on any of the modes. The Nichia 519A 5000K emitters produce a neutral, floody beam with a very pleasant tint and fantastic colour rendition.

The User Interface is simple and intuitive and extra care has been taken to prevent accidental activations.

The size is normal for a 18650 light and can be easily carried in a pocket, even though there are definitely smaller 18650 torches available.

The included Acebeam ARC18650H-310A with built-in USB port battery features USB C onboard charging which takes about 2.5 hours from depleted to full and makes the use of a dedicated charger optional.

If you are looking for a premium quality torch that feels luxurious to hold and produces light equally as luxurious to look at, then the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti is a light you should consider.

The Acebeam E70 Mini Ti can be purchased directly from the company's website and the cost at the moment this review is written is $109.90, including the battery and shipping, worldwide. It is also available from Amazon.de at a great price deal for Amazon Prime members.

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Acebeam E70 Mini Ti:

Pros

+ Neutral 5000K high CRI emitters produce excellent light quality.

+ Digitally regulated constant current boost driver which provides stable output and high efficiency with no visible PWM.

+ Luxurious Titanium Body construction.

+ Long runtimes.

+ Impeccable and intricate machining.

+ USB type C charging integrated in the included battery.

+ Low Voltage Protection.

+ Quality springs on both sides of the battery.

+ Smart Temperature Control.

+ Simple and intuitive UI.

+ 12 slots for 6mm x 1.5mm tritium vials.

+ IP68.

Cons

- I measured the throw to be lower than advertised.

- The Ultra-Low mode is 12 Lumens. A 1 Lumen or even sub-Lumen mode would have been nicer.

Thanks to Acebeam for providing the sample for review

Polymeros Achaniotis 11/10/2022

Introduction

Having someone to hold your torch so you can have both hands free is useful in many situations, especially if they are good at pointing it where you want to see and of course, not in your eyes. When no such brilliant helper can be found, a head torch can do just as good a job.

Head torches come in many different varieties, ranging from low CRI - high output, to illuminate large areas to high CRI - low output, for illuminating closer, with better quality light.

Sofirn sent us one of their head torches to review, that can combine both: The Sofirn HS20.

The Sofirn HS20 is a dual head lamp, with independent controls for a high output - low CRI and a low(er) output - high CRI emitter. This sounds like a brilliant idea, so let's delve into it and see how they've done!

Unboxing

The Sofirn HS20 comes in a generic brown box with the company logo stamped on the top and a sticker specifying the exact model it contains. The torch and all the accessories are tucked inside in no particular order.

The accessories include a 1m (3ft) long USB A to USB C charging cable, 2 spare O-rings, the head strap and the manual. The torch itself comes protected in a bubble-wrap bag.

There is a label on the torch, held with a rubber band, reminding the end user to remove the insulation paper from the battery (which is shipped inside the torch) so the torch can function.

The design of the Sofirn HS20 makes it a dedicated head torch, as it is not convenient to operate in hand. It consists of a tube, with 2 end caps and a protrusion in the middle of the tube, which houses the 2 emitters and their optics.

On top of the protrusion there are 2 buttons, to control the 2 emitters separately.

The emitter on the left (as you face the torch) is a Cree XHP50.2 inside an orange peel reflector. Despite being marketed as a spotlight, this configuration with a large dye emitter and a shallow, orange peel reflector is not going to focus the light into a narrow beam and have a lot of throw. I consider it instead to be the high output option.

The emitter on the right is a Samsung LH351D CRI90 behind a TIR optic, which is protected by a glass lens. This is marketed as a flood light and indeed the TIR optic makes it floody. It is also the high CRI, lower output option.

One of the end caps is marked with the USB symbol. The other has the mandatory CE / RoHS / do not throw in the bin markings.

Unscrewing the USB marked end cap reveals the USB C charging port. Unscrewing the other end cap reveals the battery, with the insulating paper on top.

The battery is a Sofirn branded, button top, 3000mAh, 18650, Li-Ion battery.

A brass puck at the back of the driver PCB makes contact with the positive terminal of the battery while a thick, good quality spring on the end cap makes contact with the negative terminal.

The torch fits securely in the silicone cradle of the head band and the straps are soft and adjustable.

Build Quality

The build quality of the Sofirn HS20 is... OK. All parts fit together nicely and the anodization is uniform but there are some milling defects that can be seen under the anodization, especially on the edges of the milled grooves at the back. This has no functional consequences whatsoever, of course, but it detracts from the aesthetics.

Specifications

The specifications of the Sofirn HS20 as found on the company's website can be viewed below.

The high output Cree XHP50.2 emitter has a CCT of 6000K-6500K and a CRI of 70 while the high CRI Samsung LH351D emitter has a CCT of 5000K and a CRI of 90.

The USB C port facilitates fast charging with 2A current and can charge the included battery in 2.5 hours.

User Interface

The Sofirn HS20 features one switch per emitter, for fully independent control.

From OFF:

• Click throw / flood button to turn on throw / flood emitter. Press and hold to select modes low / medium / high. Click to turn off.
• Double click throw / flood button to turn on throw / flood emitter on Turbo. Click to turn off.
• Triple click any button to activate lock out. The flood emitter will flash twice. Clicking any button while in lock out mode will make the flood emitter flash twice to indicate the torch is in lock out mode. Triple click throw / flood button to go out of lockout mode and turn on the throw / flood emitter.
• Press and hold throw / flood button to turn on throw / flood emitter on Eco mode. Keep holding for more then 1sec to go to and cycle through the standard modes: low / medium / high. Click to turn off.

From ON:

• Click the throw / flood button to turn off the throw / flood emitter.
• Double click the throw / flood button to go to Turbo on the throw / flood emitter. Click to return to the previous mode.
• Triple click any button to cycle through throw / flood / throw + flood.
• Long press the throw / flood button to select modes low / medium / high on the throw / flood emitter. Click to turn off.

The switches are also lit, to provide information on the battery level.

Modes and Run Times

The Sofirn HS20 has 5 modes for each emitter: Eco, Low, Medium, High and Turbo.

The output of each mode for each emitter as well as the 2 emitters combined together, according to Sofirn, is shown in the following table.

My measurements are in the table below in orange, while the company specifications are in black. It looks like the specifications of the Sofirn HS20 are quite accurate!

Size Comparison

Here is a side by side photo of the Sofirn HS20 with the Sofirn HS10. The Sofirn HS20 is quite compact for a dual emitter head torch with a 18650 battery.

Photometry

I took some photometry readings with an Opple Light Master Pro. The results are in the following table.

The CCTs of both emitters seem to be warmer than spec. The CRI readings are what is expected.

On the other hand, it looks like the Opple Light master pro has trouble reading the Duv of the Cree XHP50.2 emitter, which, as you can see in the following photos, taken with a white balance of 5500K, is definitely not on the rosy side.

The photos show the Sofirn HS20 on the right, compared to the Sofirn HS10 on the left. The Sofirn HS10 uses a Samsung LH351D 5000K emitter, which is the same with the Sofirn HS20 flood emitter.

On the first photo we see the Sofirn HS20 spot light, on the second the flood light and on the third, both.

Beam Profile

As there are 2 emitters with their separate optics in the Sofirn HS20, we have 2 beam profiles and of course, the combination of both.

The first photo shows the beam profile of the spotlight, with the Cree XHP50.2 emitter and the shallow, orange peal reflector. The second photo shows the beam profile of the floodlight, with the Samsung LH351D emitter and the TIR optic. It is obvious that the first has a tighter hot spot than the second and as it also has more output, it is certain it will throw further.

In the last photo, we have the combined beam profile of both emitters.

Beam Shots

Here are some beam shots of the Sofirn HS20 flood light, spot light and dual emitters, at Low, Medium, High and Turbo.

The following video shows a comparison of the Sofirn HS20 to the Sofirn HS10, on Turbo, using both emitters of the Sofirn HS20. The distance to the end of the alley is 70m.

Driver

The driver of the Sofirn HS20 features thermal step down, reverse polarity protection and low voltage protection. It is a FET driver and uses PWM on all modes to control the output. The PWM is of high frequency and not visible to the eye.

Here is the PWM when only the spotlight is on:

Here is the PWM when only the floodlight is on:

And this is the PWM with both emitters on:

The camera can see the PWM but the eye cannot.

Current Draw

The following table shows the current draw of the Sofirn HS20, using the included battery.

Charging

The Sofirn HS20 comes with USB C onboard charging.

The battery included with the Sofirn HS20 is rated at 3000mAh and I measured it at 3043mAh. The battery's internal resistance was measured at 50mΩ. It looks like the battery included with the Sofirn HS20 is of high quality.

The torch has under voltage protection and turns off when the battery voltage drops to 2.88V. Charging the battery of the Sofirn HS20 is very easy. Just plug the included USB A to USB C cable and any USB charger that can provide the required maximum current of 2A into the USB C socket on the torch to charge it. Using a lower output charger will still work but the charging will be slower and take more time. There is also support for  USB C to USB C cable charging. 

The indicative LED next to the USB C socket will turn red while the battery is charging and green to indicate a full charge.

Charging the Sofirn HS20 battery from 2.88V to 4.12V, where the charging terminated, took 2 hours, 28 minutes and 2 seconds, which is in accordance with the 2.5 hours charging specification. The maximum current drawn was 1.7688A.

Output & Runtimes

The Sofirn HS 20 is rated at a maximum output of 2700 Lumen and a maximum throw of 136m.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

Running the Sofirn HS20 with the included battery and using both emitters yielded a maximum output of 2616 Lumen at turn on and 2456 Lumen at 30 seconds (ANSI). That is very close to spec. The outputs of the spotlight and floodlight emitters were also up to spec.

You can see the full runtimes of each emitter separately and both together, on Turbo, in the graph below.

Here are the first 10 minutes, in greater detail.

I measured the throw of the Sofirn HS20, using the included battery and both emitters, at 138m (4732cd). The spotlight was measured at 127m (4002cd) and the floodlight at 71m (1271cd).

Conclusion

The Sofirn HS20 is a value for money, dual head torch that includes a high CRI floodlight and a high power spotlight with independent controls and an intuitive and simple user interface.

It comes with a comfortable, adjustable head strap, USB C 2A charging and a 3000mAh 18650 battery.

The build quality is good and the design is very functional, but the finish could be better aesthetically, as there are some small imperfections in the milling, under the anodization.

The driver uses PWM to control the output in all modes, but the PWM is high frequency and not visible or in any way tiring to the eye. The driver also has thermal regulation, low voltage protection and reverse polarity protection.

If you are in the UK, you can purchase the Sofirn HS20 from Amazon for £56.99, minus a 10% voucher available at the time of this review. From anywhere in the world, you can purchase it from the Sofirn Website for $41.99 plus the tax for your country. For Greece, the tax is $5.46 and brings the total cost to $47.45.

Let us summarise the pros and cons of the Sofirn HS20.

Pros

+ Dual emitters, 1 high output Cree XHP50.2 and 1 high CRI Samsung LH351D, with independent controls.

+ Simple and intuitive user interface.

+ High and true to spec output.

+ Temperature regulation, low voltage protection and reverse polarity protection.

+ USB C 2A onboard charging with USB C to USB C support.

+ 3000mAh 18650 Li-Ion battery included.

+ Comfortable and adjustable head strap.

+ IP68.

+ Value for money.

Cons

- Small imperfections in the milling, under the anodization.

Thanks to Sofirn for providing the torch for review

Polymeros Achaniotis 13/04/2022

Introduction

Things that try to do two jobs are often mediocre at both, so when I was offered a review sample of the Acebeam Rider RX I was sceptical. You see, this particular torch is marketed not only as an EDC torch but also a fidget toy. And the immediate thought that comes to mind is what compromises had to be made for it to be both?

Acebeam is a company that thinks things through in their designs and implementations and I was interested to see how they went about it, so I accepted the sample and will be presenting my findings and thoughts in this article.

Let's delve into this review and find out if the Acebeam Rider RX is a good EDC torch. Fidget toy. Both.

Unboxing

The Acebeam Rider RX comes in a simple white box, with a clear window at the front through which you can see the torch. The front of the box also states the brand and model while the back has the company information and various certifications and QR codes.

The two sides have the company logo and the 5 year warranty, respectively. The top and bottom of the box are plain white.

Inside the box, we find the torch, in a clear, moulded plastic that holds it in place and under that we find the accessories.

The accessories include the user manual, a lanyard, spare o-rings and the short USB-A to USB-C charging cable.

The manual unfolds to a single sheet of paper. One side of it is written in English and the other side is in Chinese. In the following photo you can see the English side.

The construction of the Acebeam Rider RX includes an outer tube, made of stainless steel and an inner tube made of aluminium. The outer tube comes in 4 different finishes that you can see in the following photo, while the inner tube is always anodized blue.

The sample that was sent to me is the blue version of the Acebeam Rider RX which is the most discrete one, as the outer stainless steel tube does not contrast with the inner aluminium tube. It is a very nice blue as well.

The torch is very pocketable, as it uses a 14500 / AA battery and is well designed and appealing to the eye. The outer tube has cut outs through which you can see the inner tube. Very nice.

The front of the torch shows clearly the double tube design while the back has the switch.

The mid section is the most interesting part, with the cut outs that show the inner tube.

The clip is large and bidirectional and to he honest does not look remotely as elegant as the rest of the torch. It is very functional and the size and shape are deliberate, as they are necessary for the fidgeting function. It is held in place by two screws.

As you can see, the cut out for the clip allows for it to be moved to the side and then forward, as the arrow indicates. There is a spring loaded ball bearing that will engage into the 3 small holes to stop the clip assembly in specific places.

The switch is simple, flat and allows the torch to tail stand. The lens comes protected with a film that must be removed before use.

Once the film is removed, we can see the shallow, smooth reflector and the emitter. The emitter is a Nichia 219F at 5000K.

In order to open the battery compartment, we first need to follow the arrow and move the clip to the side and then forward. This action pushes the inner tube to the front and exposes the front part of it.

As a consequence, the switch is recessed inside the outer tube and is unreachable. This could work as a mechanical lock out as well.

Now that the front part of the inner tube is exposed, we can just unscrew it to gain access to the battery compartment.

The battery comes inside the torch, with the positive terminal insulated for safety.

At the back of the battery, there is a thick, good quality spring, while the positive terminal at the front of the battery makes contact with a brass button on the driver PCB. Some of the electronics are on this side of the PCB as well.

The battery that comes with the Acebeam Rider RX is a Li-Ion 14500 with a rated capacity of 920mAh. It also features a USB-C charging port. Very convenient.

Build Quality

I am certain that it was clear from the photos that the build quality of the Acebeam Rider RX is very good. The fit and finish are impeccable and the anodizing and painting are excellent.

Specifications

The specifications of the Acebeam Rider RX, as found on the company's website, are as follows:

The Acebeam Rider RX features a Nichia 219F emitter, with a CRI >90 and a neutral CCT of 5000K.

The output of 650 Lumens is not exceptional, but for a high CRI torch in this size it is normal, if you want any kind of duration on high. The smooth but shallow reflector throws to 96 meters, which is quite respectable for the size and adequate for EDC purposes.

The size and weight of the Acebeam Rider RX make it very easy to carry.

A great feature of the Acebeam Rider RX is its ability to use Ni-MH and Alkaline batteries, in addition to the Li-Ion battery it comes with, so you are never out of power. The output with the lower voltage batteries is, of course, also lower.

User Interface

The user interface of the Acebeam Rider RX is simple and intuitive.

The switch is a forward clicky, which means you half press repeatedly to select the mode you want (momentary use) and full press to keep the torch permanently on at the currently selected mode.

There are four modes that you can cycle through it that way, Ultra Low, Low, Mid and High and then the cycle repeats. There is mode memory, so the torch with start at the last used mode.

A double half press will put the torch in SOS mode where it automatically shines an SOS in Mors code. Fully pressing the switch at that point will leave the torch running in that mode, while another half press instead will move forward within the normal 4 modes.

Modes and Run Times

The following table shows the output levels and respective durations of the Acebeam Rider RX with the included Li-Ion battery as well as with a Ni-MH and an Alkaline battery.

My own measurements show slightly less brightness than the specs, but not by much. The Ni-MH battery I used was a white Eneloop.

Fidget Factor

The fidgeting function of the Acebeam Rider RX relies on the movement of the clip, which exposes the front part of the inner tube, as shown below.

I was not sold on it to begin with, but when I got my hands on the sample and tried it, it quickly grew on me and I found it quite satisfying. I have not and would not fidget with the Acebeam Rider RX in the presence of other people though, as it is quite loud and I expect it would annoy them.

Another point to consider is that the front of the clip slides on the paint of the outer tube, which seems to be of very high quality and resilient so far, but I am sure that with time and many repetitions, the friction will damage the paint.

Size Comparison

The size of the Acebeam Rider RX is quite standard for a 14500 torch. Here is is between the Lumintop Tool 2.0 and the Olight i5T, for comparison.

This is a very pocketable form factor and that is why 14500 sized torches are a popular EDC choice.

Photometry

I used an Opple Light Master Pro to measure the CCT, CRI and Duv of the Acebeam Rider RX. The results for all four output modes can be seen below, from Ultra Low to High.

The CCT is quite close to spec across all four output modes and the CRI is consistently above 90, as promised. Unfortunately, the Duv is positive, which means a greenish rather than a rosy tint.

To visualise that, I took the following photo, with the white balance manually set to 5500K. On the left we have the Lumintop Tool 2.0, modified with a Nichia 219b sw45k R9080 emitter, which is very rosy. In the middle is the Acebeam Rider RX and on the right we have the Olight i5T which is known to have a distinctly greenish hue.

Beam Profile

The beam profile of the Acebeam Rider RX can be seen in the following photo. There is a defined hot spot, that guarantees some throw, and adequate spill. A well balanced beam profile for EDC.

Beam Shots

I tested the Acebeam Rider RX over a distance of 70m.

The following video shows a comparison of the Acebeam Rider RX to the Lumintop Tool 2.0, modified with a Nichia 219b sw45k R9080 emitter and the Olight i5T.

Driver

Acebeam usually employs very high quality, constant current drivers with no visible or invisible flickering.

Unfortunately, that is not the case with the driver of the Acebeam Rider RX. The Opple Light Master Pro shows high risk flickering in the Ultra Low and Low modes, while there is still flickering albeit non harmful on Mid and High modes. The details of the modulation can be seen below.

This is how my camera sees the modulation of the Acebeam Rider RX.

Current Draw

The current that the Acebeam Rider RX draws in each of the four modes can be seen below. The maximum current drawn, on High, is 2.56A, so any button top 14500 battery that can provide at least that output, will work well with the Acebeam Rider RX.

Charging

The battery included with the Acebeam Rider RX is rated at 920mAh and I measured it at 955mAh. The battery's internal resistance was measured at 75mΩ. It is clear that the battery included with the Acebeam Rider RX is of high quality.

The torch has under voltage protection and turns off when the battery voltage drops to 2.83V. Charging the battery of the Acebeam Rider RX is very easy. Just use the included USB-A to USB-C cable and any USB charger or computer USB port to charge it. Unfortunately, the battery does not support USB-C to USB-C cable charging (no PD support). 

The indicative LED around the positive terminal will turn red while the battery is charging and green to indicate a full charge.

Charging the Acebeam Rider RX battery from 2.83V to 4.19V, where the charging terminated, took 3 hours, 13 minutes and 54 seconds. The maximum current drawn was 0.4362A, so any USB charger or computer USB port will be sufficient. A charger is not provided with the light but you can use your phone charger.

Output & Runtimes

The Acebeam Rider RX is rated at a maximum output of 650 Lumen and a maximum throw of 96m.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

Running the Acebeam Rider RX with the included battery yielded a maximum output of 614 Lumen at turn on and 542 Lumen at 30 seconds (ANSI). The output kept dropping gradually until the 2 minute and 11 seconds mark, when it dove to 396 Lumen. From there, it gradually dropped to 370 Lumen over the next 6 minutes and then dropped to 302 Lumen. From that point on, the output gradually declined until it turned off at 1 hour, 14 minutes and 57 seconds.

From the runtime graph we can deduce that the output level is dependant on the battery voltage and timed step downs. There is no thermal regulation as I was able to reset the torch to full output by turning it off and back on.

Here are the first 10 minutes, in greater detail.

I used a white Eneloop to test the Acebeam Rider RX with a Ni-MH battery.

The output starts at 172 Lumen and climbs to 176 Lumen over the first minute of operation. It then drops to 123 Lumen for another 6 minutes and then to 76 Lumen until almost the 2 hour mark. Then there is a brief increase in brightness, while the driver attempts to compensate for the dropping battery voltage and after that the output drops to very low levels for another hour and 20 minutes before the torch turns itself off.

It is obvious and expected that when using a Ni-MH or an Alkaline battery the voltage is boosted to be able to drive the emitter and therefore the output is more stable. 

Here are the first 10 minutes of the above graph, in greater detail.

I measured the throw of the Acebeam Rider RX, using the included battery, at 94m (2190cd), which is close enough to the 96m declared in the specs. With the white Eneloop battery, the throw I measured was at 50m (622cd).

Conclusion

The Acebeam Rider RX is a 14500 sized EDC torch with a fidget function. It features a double tube design, with the outer tube made of stainless steel in 4 different finish options and the inner tube made of blue anodized aluminium.

The quality of the construction, painting and anodization is excellent and fidgeting with it can be fun, but is also loud and may annoy some people in the vicinity.

The beam profile and output are optimized for EDC use and the torch is operated by a forward clicky tail switch which feels rather mushy but is easy to use. The user interface is simple and the mode spacing is good. 

The emitter used in the Acebeam Rider RX is a Nichia 219F with CRI>90 and CCT=5000K which is above BBL in all output modes but not as much as other torches, like the Olight i5T. It is rather close to natural day light, which is also above BBL. My measurements of the output levels found them to be below specs, but not by much.

The Acebeam Rider RX can be ordered directly from the Acebeam website and costs $54.95, including the battery and shipping.

Let us summarise the pros and cons of the Acebeam Rider RX.

Pros

+ Excellent build quality, painting and anodizing

+ Stainless steel outer tube with aluminium inner tube

+ Engaging fidget function

+ Impeccable and intricate machining

+ High CRI 5000K emitter

+ Low Voltage Protection.

+ USB -C rechargeable battery included

+ Supports Li-Ion, Ni-MH and Alkaline batteries

+ Simple and intuitive UI

+ IP68

+ Easily pocketable form factor

+ Reverse polarity protection

Cons

- Flickering, especially in Ultra Low and Low levels

- No thermal regulation

- The battery does not support USB-C to USB-C cable charging

- Above BBL

Thanks to Acebeam for providing the torch for review

Polymeros Achaniotis 28/03/2022

Introduction

Sometimes you need a pocket torch and sometimes you need a head torch. And then, there are times your usage scenario is so versatile and complex that you need to cover all possible situations.

We all have to make compromises with the EDC torch we carry and choose the one that is most likely to serve our needs for the day, but what if there was a torch that was so versatile it could eliminate the need to choose?

Brinyte aspires to provide the answer to that question with their new Brinyte HL16 Noctua. 

The Brinyte HL16 Noctua is a headlamp like no other that I have seen, as its head rotates from 0 to 90 degrees, including 3 intermediate positions, thus providing unparalleled versatility and eliminating the need to compromise when choosing your EDC torch type.

But what compromises did Brinyte have to make, if any, to realise such a unique and complex design? Read ahead to find out.

Unboxing

The Brinyte HL16 Noctua comes in a very nice cardboard box that is held closed with a blue paper ribbon, bearing the company's logo.

The front of the box features a photo of the torch, emphasizing its articulated head and the magnetic charging capability. The back is less exciting, but provides a useful QR code to find out more about the product.

The top and bottom of the box are plain white, while the longer sides feature the name of the torch and one of them has a photo of the torch mounted on the included head strap.

Upon opening the box we find a card, explaining that the battery is already inside the torch, but insulated from the tail cap by an insulation film. The film has to be removed before the torch can be used.

Inside the box we find a head strap, a magnetic charging USB cable, 2 spare O Rings and 2 leaflets.

One of the leaflets is the warranty registration card which will allow the owner of the torch to extend its warranty from 2 to 5 years, free of charge, by registering the product on the company's website.

The other leaflet is the user manual, which is easy to understand and includes helpful illustrations.

The magnetic charging cable is 53cm long, including the plug and magnetic head. It is rather stiff and not at all like the much nicer charging cable that is included with the Brinyte PT18pro Oathkeeper, which is supple, sleeved, significantly longer at 102cm and features an illuminated magnetic charging tip. This is a definite downgrade from the magnetic charging cables of previous Brinyte models. Thankfully, the much nicer cable included with the Brinyte PT18pro Oathkeeper is compatible with the Brinyte HL16 Noctua.

If the charging cable is a bit disappointing, the head strap makes up for it. It is very well made, has a good quality rubber cradle for the torch and adjustable size. The weaving is elastic and features ventilation holes which are a big help in warm weather.

Finally, the torch itself! The Brinyte HL16 Noctua features a unique design, with an articulated head that can turn from 0 to 90 degrees. It is made of black anodized aluminium, with blue accents and has a large rubber button with the company logo engraved on one side and a magnetic charging connection point on the other. The head and the tail of the light feature a faceted milling design that provides both added grip and aesthetics.

The articulated head is designed and executed with precision and definitely adds to the value and - I am sure - to the manufacturing cost of the torch. There are several detents visible, which means the head will not only stop in the 0 and 90 degree position but also in some positions in between.

The clip is sturdy, thick and well designed. It comes positioned in the bezel up carry orientation and is as deep carry as can be, allowing for the articulated head.

It can easily be removed and installed in the bezel down carry orientation, which makes the torch a very deep carry.

With the clip removed, the Brinyte HL16 Noctua can be mounted onto the head strap.

The front of the light features a crenelated bezel with an eye catching design. Inside the head sits a smooth reflector, which is unusual for a head torch as it will increase the throw, but taking into account that it is not very deep and that the torch is a multifunctional one, it was probably chosen to balance the beam for all uses.

The tail cap is smooth and features a magnet that is not very strong but can hold the weight of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua in any orientation.

Unscrewing the tail cap reveals the insulating film blocking the negative pole of the battery from making contact with the spring of the tail cap. Let's remove it.

The included battery is a Brinyte branded 16340 Li-Ion battery, with a rated capacity of 650mAh.

The spring in the tail cap is not thick, but should be sufficient for the current requirements of this torch. The head features a brass button battery contact, with no spring. Despite only having a spring on one side of the battery, hits and bumps did not cause the Brinyte HL16 Noctua to turn off. 

With the insulator film removed and the battery re-installed, the Brinyte HL16 Noctua is ready for action.

Quality

The build quality of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua does not allow for any complaints.

The fit and finish are excellent, the milling is perfect and the anodization is without any flaws.

Articulated Head

The one unique feature of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua is its articulated head, that will turn from 0 to 90 degrees. The movement of the articulated head is smooth and enjoyable and makes for an addicting fidget toy.

Besides the two extreme positions, the head of the torch will stop in 3, equally spaced, intermediate positions, thus allowing for the light to be directed where it is needed.

This is a very nice and useful feature that I have not seen on any other torch available today.

Size Comparison

The following photos offer a direct size comparison of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua to the Olight S1R Baton II. The Brinyte HL16 Noctua is significantly longer, despite using the same size battery. This is a compromise Brinyte had to make to achieve the articulated head design. Nevertheless, the torch is still easily pocketable and the added functionality of the articulated head is worth the extra length.

Tint and Beam Profile

The tint of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua is above the BBL (greenish). It is similar to the tint of the Olight S1R Baton II but warmer, although that could easily just be due to the tint lottery. The emitter used in the Brinyte HL16 Noctua is not high CRI.

We can also see from the angle of the beams that the Olight S1R Baton II has a floodier beam pattern than the Brinyte HL16 Noctua.

The beam pattern of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua is well balanced although the smooth reflector makes it throw more than the average EDC or head torch. On the other hand, that helps balance the lower power, giving it about the same intensity and throw as the Olight S1R Baton II, despite having about half the Lumen output.

There is a clear hot spot surrounded by the spill which gradually fades out. No ugly artefacts, despite the smooth reflector.

Beam Shots

I tested the Brinyte HL16 Noctua over a distance of 70m.

The following video shows a comparison of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua to the Olight S1R Baton II.

Driver

The driver of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua is a linear, unregulated driver that uses PWM to dim the light, on all levels, except, of course, on full (High). The PWM is visible to the camera but not visible to the naked eye, on any level.

Even though I prefer constant current drivers, PWM is an efficient and cost effective way to achieve LED dimming and if it is done at a high enough frequency, as seems to be the case here, it is not a problem. The driver features thermal regulation, low voltage protection, over charge protection and reverse polarity protection.

Specifications

The specifications of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua , as found on the company's website, are as follows:

Despite the table stating that the maximum output is 500 Lumen, the actual advertised output as stated in the manual is 520 Lumen. I have made Brinyte aware of the mistake in the table and they will correct it.

The output is lower than other contemporary torches of this size and that is the 2nd compromise that Brinyte had to make so that the Brinyte HL16 Noctua can have its articulated head. This is because the thermal mass of the head is too small and the thermal conductivity through the articulation is too restricted to allow for higher output. Nevertheless, 520 Lumen is more than enough for any task expected from a torch of this size and the articulated head will definitely come in more useful than a few seconds of extra brightness.

The Brinyte HL16 Noctua is IP66 rated which means it is dust tight and can withstand powerful water jets, but it cannot be submerged. That is the 3rd and final compromise, after the limited maximum output and longer body, that Brinyte had to make to allow for the articulated head. IP66 is more than adequate for normal use and unless you drop your torch into a puddle, you should be alright using it in any situation.

The drop resistance rating is a respectable 1.5m, so the articulated head does not seem to limit the durability. 

The maximum throw is 140m, which is a lot for the 520 Lumen rating and is due to the smooth reflector.

User Interface

The user interface of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua is very simple and can be seen in the following animation.

• To turn the torch on, press and hold the button until it lights up. The torch features mode memory, so it will turn on at the last used mode.
• Press the button to cycle between the 4 main modes: High, Medium, Low, Moon.
• Press and hold the button to turn the torch off.
• Double click the button at any time to enter Strobe mode. Press again to go to the previously used mode.

I disagree with the company's decision to make the UI go from high to low as I find this counter intuitive, especially on an EDC or head torch. When I am on Moonlight and need a little more light I would like to be able to go to Low without having to be blinded by High first.

I also miss the ability to turn the torch on at Moon mode, regardless of the previously used mode. Some torches use press and hold from off to go straight to Moon mode, but as the Brinyte HL16 Noctua uses press and hold to turn on, this is not possible. I understand that the press and hold to turn on choice makes a lock function unnecessary, but I would prefer a Moon shortcut and a lock function.

Modes and Run Times

The brightness of the modes and the respective run times, according to the manual, are shown in the table below. I have added a row with my own measurements.

It is very refreshing to see a company that does not overestimate their product's Lumen output! Kudos to Brinyte!

Current Draw

As the UI of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua goes from High to Low, so will our current draw measurements. The torch draws just over 1.4A on High, just over 0.5A on medium, 134mA on Low and 13mA on Moonlight level.

The current requirements are not demanding and the battery is a standard 16340, so the Brinyte HL16 Noctua has the advantage to be able to run on any 3.7V Li-Ion 16340 battery.

Charging

The battery included with the Brinyte HL16 Noctua is rated at 650mAh and I measured it at 697mAh. The battery's internal resistance was measured at around 112mΩ. It is clear that the battery included with the Brinyte HL16 Noctua is of high quality. Another positive point for Brinyte.

The torch has under voltage protection and turns off when the battery voltage drops to 2.77V. The indicative LEDs around the magnetic charging port are lit green during operation if the battery charge is from 100% to 40%, lit red if it is from 40% to 5% and blink red if it is below 5%.

Charging the Brinyte HL16 Noctua  is very easy. Just use the included magnetic cable that automatically attaches to the torch when you get it near enough. The other end of the cable is a standard USB A plug and can be connected to any USB charger or computer USB port.

The indicative LEDs around the charging port will turn red while the torch is charging and turn green to indicate a full charge.

Charging the Brinyte HL16 Noctua from 2.77V to 4.18V, where the charging terminated, took 2 hours, 18 minutes and 51 seconds. The maximum current drawn was 0.5542A, so any USB charger or computer USB port will be sufficient. A charger is not provided with the light but you can use your phone charger.

Unfortunately, the indicative LEDs turned green way before the charging was actually completed, indicated by the green arrow in the chart above. The voltage of the battery at that point was around 3.9V and there was still a long time to go and a lot of energy the battery could absorb and store before the charging actually completed.

This is a practice that some other companies, such as Olight, have as well and with which I do not agree. Brinyte maintains that this increases the battery life as it is not fully charged every time and also that most users will not take the torch off the charger the moment the indicative LEDs turn green.

In my opinion, this is nonsense. I want to know when my battery is actually fully charged and not have to guess (or use measuring equipment as above) and if I want to give my battery a full charge to get the full run time it is for me, the user, to decide. Having indicative LEDs that lie to me and having to leave the torch on the charger for a longer time, with no visual indication of when the charging is actually completed is most inconvenient and has no advantage whatsoever.

Output & Runtimes

The Brinyte HL16 Noctua is rated at a maximum output of 520 Lumen and a maximum throw of 140m.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

According to my measurements, the maximum output (at turn on) was 556 Lumen, which is 7% more than the advertised 520. ANSI output (at 30 seconds) was 510 Lumen and at 2 minutes it was still 463 Lumen. Then the output declined rapidly over the next 38 seconds to 315 Lumen. It then followed the gradual declining curve of the battery output and gave useful light for over an hour, as the specifications promise.

The rest can be seen in the graphs below. The first graph is the full runtime graph.

And here are the first 10 minutes, in greater detail.

At the end of the battery life, the very low output fluctuates as the indicative LED flashes red to show that the remaining battery capacity is below 5%. 

The temperature was very well controlled, as you can see in the runtime graphs. The head and switch temperatures are close but there is some difference despite their close proximity, which demonstrates the thermal impedance of the articulated head.

The maximum intensity of the light was measured at 5002.4cd, which translates to a throw of 141m. That is 1m more than the 140m advertised.

Conclusion

The Brinyte HL16 Noctua is a unique EDC sized head torch with excellent build quality and an articulated head which allows it to turn its beam from 0 to 90 degrees relative to the body of the light, including 3 intermediate stops. Its aluminium body is well made and hard anodized and the fit and finish are flawless.

The torch meets and exceeds all of its specifications, which is refreshing to see as very few manufacturers respect their customers enough to provide true and accurate measurements.

The head band provided is very comfortable, it is adjustable and the weave allows for ventilation. The clip is unidirectional and very well designed and can be installed in 2 positions, for bezel up or bezel down deep carry.

The driver uses PWM to dim the output, so PWM is present at all output levels, except on High. The frequency of the PWM is high enough to not be visible to the naked eye and did not tire me when using the light.

The unique articulated design of the head of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua imposed some limits on this torch. The maximum output is lower than most comparable sized torches due to the thermal barrier imposed by the articulated head while its total length is increased and its waterproof rating decreased for the same reason. Nevertheless, the advantage provided by the design will outweigh the limitations for many users. Besides, maximum output is only available for about a minute on all small torches and after that, the output of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua is similar to theirs.

The Brinyte HL16 Noctua is currently under mass production and scheduled to be available for purchase at the end of October 2021 from the company's website and the cost will be $69.98. Brinyte have provided a $10 discount code for the readers of this review, which brings the price down to $59.98.

The discount code is: HL16Noctua

Disclaimer: I get absolutely no percentage of the sales or any other personal benefits from Brinyte, except for the fact that the torch was provided for review free of charge.

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Brinyte HL16 Noctua:

Pros

+ Unique articulated head design that allows for 0 to 90 degrees position, including 3 intermediate stops

+ Measurements show specs to be accurate and not exaggerated, showing respect to the customer

+ Good and balanced beam pattern

+ Good quality head strap

+ Magnetic charging

+ Magnetic tail cap

+ Included good quality battery

+ Low Voltage Protection, Over Charge Protection and Reverse Polarity Protection

+ Thermal regulation

+ Low power and charging LED indicator

+ Good quality unidirectional clip that can be placed in 2 positions, for bezel up or bezel down deep carry

+ Compatible with all 3.7V Li-Ion 16340 and with 3.0V CR123 batteries

Cons

- High to Low User Interface

- Charging indicator indicates charging complete a long time before it is actually completed

- Maximum output limited to 520 Lumen

- Longer than most 16340 torches

- IP rating limited to IP66

- The driver is not regulated and uses PWM to dim the emitter

- The charging cable is a downgrade from the one included in previous Brinyte models

Thanks to Brinyte for providing the torch for review

Polymeros Achaniotis 16/10/2021

Introduction

There are not many occasions in my every day life where I need more than an EDC sized torch, but there is always some excitement and a smile when wielding a torch of larger proportions and ridiculously high output.

Today is such an occasion, so with some excitement - and a smile - I present to you the most powerful torch Sofirn has to offer: The Sofirn Q8 Pro.

The Sofirn Q8 Pro is a soda can type torch which promises high output, long run times, a good user interface and other interesting features, all at a very affordable price. Let's put that to the test, shall we?

Unboxing

The Sofirn Q8 Pro comes in the usual unassuming, generic brown cardboard box that Sofirn likes to use. If it keeps the cost down, I am all for it. Only, in this case, there are two boxes.

Inside one of them, we find the torch, protected in bubble wrap, a 1 meter long USB A to USB C charging cable, 2 spare O-rings for the battery tube and 1 spare O-Ring for the bezel, a spare button cover and the manual. The other box contains the optional holster and diffuser, found on the company's website but not offered on Amazon.co.uk at the moment.

The torch comes with a little tag, secured around the body with a rubber band. The tag explains that there is an insulator in the battery compartment, stopping the batteries from making contact and thus rendering the torch inoperable, for safe shipping. The insulator needs to be removed before the torch can be used.

The Sofirn Q8 Pro is a black, cylindrical light, 132mm long and with a diameter of about 59mm at its widest point, which is the front bezel. The body features knurling which allows for a secure grip without being too aggressive. The button is rubbery, textured and slightly raised, so it is easy to find by touch, but can also be pressed while in a backpack or in a (very large) pocket. Thankfully, there is a lock out option to cover that contingency. The area around the button has some heatsinking in the form of fins, while at 90 degrees to its right there is a rubber flap.

Lifting the flap, reveals the USB C charging port.

Another 90 degrees to the right, at the exact opposite side of the button, we find a standard 1/4" threaded hole that allows the torch to be mounted on a tripod.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder so I will not presume to tell you if the Sofirn Q8 Pro looks good or not, but I can definitely say that it is an elegant and unassuming design that seems to mean business.

That is even more true about the business end of the light, which features a quadruple orange peel reflector with deep enough cups to add a bit of throw. The emitters at the bottom of those cups are 4 Cree XHP50.2 6500K LEDs.

The battery compartment can be accessed by unscrewing the light into two halves and contains 4 batteries. The front side has an insulator covering which must be removed to reveal the circular battery contacts.

The threads are square cut, come pre-greased and operate smoothly.

The batteries are Sofirn branded 18650 Li-Ion and rated at 3000mAh.

The inner circular battery contact is for the positive contacts of the 4 batteries while the outer circular battery contact gets the negative via the metal body of the battery compartment. The metal body of the battery compartment gets the negative from the batteries through 4 thick double springs at its bottom. The thickness of the springs, the fact that they are double and the whole design seems capable of transferring the power of the batteries to the driver with minimal losses. It is also easy to mechanically lock out the torch by unscrewing the battery compartment by half a turn, thus breaking the contact between its non anodized lip of the battery compartment and the outer circular contact of the head. 

The driver is secured with 2 screws, which can be removed to access its other side. There, we see 2 black and 2 red cables, that transfer the current from the driver to the emitters. I am not sure why double cabling was preferred to using a bigger gauge cable, but it certainly will help to transfer power with less resistance. The 5 white cables are for the switch and its indicative LEDs.

There are no programming pads on the outer side of the driver to update the firmware of the ATTiny85 chip that controls the torch, but the easy access to the inner side means that the same can be accomplished with a SOIC clip directly on the chip.

With the insulator out of the way, the Sofirn Q8 Pro s ready for action, which is indicated by the 2 green LEDs on the switch.

The diffuser is plastic and fits on top of the torch when it tail stands, but is loose and will fall if the torch is lifted up and tilted. It can also break if it is dropped. I would definitely prefer a silicone diffuser.

The holster is adequate and closes securely via a hook and loop stripe at the front. It is functional but I would prefer it if it was made from a thicker material.

The back features both a sewn belt loop, as the most secure option and another that is secured via hook and loop, to allow fastening the holster to a belt without unfastening the belt. The holster also features a plastic D ring.

Quality

The build quality of the Sofirn Q8 Pro is very good and on par with other Sofirn lights.

The fit and finish are excellent, the knurling is of good quality and the anodization is without any flaws. The addition of a stainless steel bezel is welcome and adds protection and aesthetics.

Specifications

The specifications of the Sofirn Q8 Pro, as found on the company's website, are as follows:

The torch features 4 Cree XHP50.2 emitters with a CCT of 6500K (cool white - there is also a neutral white version at 5000K) which provide a maximum output of 11000 Lumen and a maximum throw of 400m. It is powered by 4x 3000mAh 18650 Li-Ion batteries, is USB C rechargeable and incorporates a power bank function.

The Sofirn Q8 Pro is made of aluminium and is 134mm long and 59mm wide at the bezel. The weight without the batteries is approximately 408g (I measured 418g without the batteries and 604g with the batteries).

The Sofirn Q8 Pro is water proof rated equivalent to IPX8.

User Interface

The user interface of the Sofirn Q8 Pro is a love or hate deal, as the light features the Andúril2 UI. Personally, I love it and deeply enjoy the fact that it is feature packed but still provides simple, quick and intuitive access to the basic functions. Others hate it and consider it too much work, as the manual is extensive and even the flow chart found at the company's website can be intimidating to look at.

Andúril2 offers a Simple UI, which the torch comes set to, that allows for all the basic functions, while remaining relatively simple.

10 clicks and hold the last, and you enter the magical realm of the full Andúril2 experience. Give it a chance! You will love it!

In my experience, after the initial shock, it is very easy to start using Andúril2 and have an occasional look at the flow chart to remind oneself of the more advanced functions.

An important thing to do when you take any Andúril2 light out of the box is to perform a temperature calibration, as the light will depend on it to perform proper thermal control and balance brightness with temperature. That is also the best time to set the temperature limit. I find 50°C to be a good temperature limit and the tests done in this review were done on a calibrated light and with a 50°C temperature limit.

Size Comparison

The following photos offer a direct size comparison of the Sofirn Q8 Pro to the Olight X7R. the Sofirn Q8 Pro is slightly longer but has a smaller diameter at the head.

Tint and Beam Shots

The tint of the Sofirn Q8 Pro is the cool, greenish (above BBL) tint that is expected of the Cree XHP50.2 emitters. It is very similar to the tint of the Olight X7R. The XHP50.2 used in the Sofirn Q8 Pro are not high CRI.

We can also see from the angle of the beams that the Olight X7R has a floodier beam pattern than the Sofirn Q8 Pro.

The beam pattern of the Sofirn Q8 Pro is a product of the LED type and size and the reflector it uses. With the 5x5mm Cree XHP50.2 emitters and orange peel reflector, it is not surprising that the result is a floody beam but the depth of the reflector cups adds some throw.

There is a wide hot spot surrounded by a corona ring and a smooth flood of light.

I tested the Sofirn Q8 Pro over a distance of 70m.

The following video shows a comparison of the Sofirn Q8 Pro to the Olight X7R.

Driver

The driver of the Sofirn Q8 Pro is a linear, unregulated driver that uses PWM to dim the light, on all levels, except, of course, on full. The PWM is visible to the camera but not visible to the naked eye, on any level.

Even though I prefer constant current drivers, PWM is an efficient and cost effective way to achieve LED dimming and if it is done at a high enough frequency, as seems to be the case here, it is not a problem. The driver features thermal regulation, low voltage protection and reverse polarity protection.

Current Draw

The lowest setting of the Sofirn Q8 Pro (floor of the ramp) only draws 3mA. The top of the ramp draws  8.03A and Turbo requires 22.4A.

You can run the Sofirn Q8 Pro with all 4 batteries or with 3 or 2 or even 1 battery. Each of the batteries provided with the Sofirn Q8 Pro can output up to 10A (tested) so in order to get full brightness on Turbo you need to use at least 3 batteries. All measurements were taken with all 4 batteries in the torch.

Charging

The batteries included with the Sofirn Q8 Pro are rated at 3000mAh and I measured them to be right around that number (2953mAh / 3016mAh / 3032mAh / 2997mAh)  The torch has under voltage protection and turns off when the battery voltage drops to 2.9V. The batteries' internal resistance was measured at around 50mΩ (50mΩ / 53mΩ / 54mΩ / 40mΩ). It is clear that the batteries included with the Sofirn Q8 Pro are of high quality.

Charging the Sofirn Q8 Pro is very easy. Just lift the rubber cover and connect the provided cable or any other USB C cable to the charging port and its other end to a charger. Both USB A to USB C and USB C to USB C cables can be used as well as any charger, including the ones that support PD. This is very convenient as you can charge the Sofirn Q8 Pro with any USB C cable and charger you have at hand.

The blue indicative LEDs on the switch blink while the light is charging and stay steadily on when the charging is completed, at 4.19V.

Charging the Sofirn Q8 Pro from 2.9V to 4.19V took 4 hours, 51 minutes and 7 seconds. The maximum current drawn was 2.8385A, so a charger that can provide at least 3A is recommended to achieve the fastest charging speed. A charger is not provided with the light but you can use your phone charger.

Power Bank Function

A very nice feature of the Sofirn Q8 Pro is its ability to function as a power bank. When the power bank function is in effect, the red indicative LEDs turn on.

There is no information available regarding the current that the power bank function can provide through the USB C port so I had to investigate. I found that the Sofirn Q8 Pro can provide a maximum steady output of 3A for 2 hours, 19 minutes and 19 seconds. The output is very stable and the end of the test the voltage of the batteries was 3.15V.

The power bank function provided a total of 34.8759Wh while discharging the batteries from 4.19V to 3.15V. Charging the batteries from 2.9V to 4.19V requires, as we saw in the previous section, 48.9621Wh. This means that the power bank function has a efficiency of over 71%, without even taking into account that there is still some energy remaining in the batteries as the power bank function stops when their voltage drops to 3.15V and they can still be discharged to 2.9V by using the torch.

Output & Runtimes

The Sofirn Q8 Pro is rated at 11000 Lumen output and 400m of throw.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

According to my measurements, the maximum output (at turn on) was an impressive 14310 lumen, which is 30% more than the advertised 11000! ANSI output (at 30 seconds) was 13365 Lumen and 45 seconds it was still 13320 Lumen. Then the output declined steadily to 8859 Lumen at 1 minute, 4396 Lumen at 1.5 minutes and 2277 Lumen at 2 minutes. It remained at that level until 00:05:45 and then dropped to 1359 Lumen.

The rest can be seen in the graphs below. The first graph is the full runtime graph that my equipment can record with a sampling interval of 5 seconds. At 29 hours, 9 minutes and 55 seconds, the Sofirn Q8 Pro was still on, with an output of 0.5 Lumen.

Most of the action happens in the first 5 hours though, so here is a graph that shows that part of the runtime in greater detail.

And here are the first 10 minutes.

The temperature was very well controlled, as you can see in the runtime graphs. The head and body temperatures are very close, which shows the excellent thermal conductivity of the torch.

The torch was temperature calibrated, according to the manual, and the temperature limit was set at 50C. The actual temperatures near the button and on the body of the torch can be seen on the graphs and were kept well within the set limit.

All in all, the Sofirn Q8 Pro gave outputs of over 1000 Lumen for over 3 hours and 40 minutes, when turned on at Turbo, which is very respectable, especially considering the very high initial output. Usage at more moderate levels, will of course, result in higher runtimes.

The maximum intensity of the light was measured at 52241cd, which translates to a throw of 457m. That is 14.25% more than the 400m advertised.

Conclusion

The Sofirn Q8 Pro is a value for money, soda can sized torch that will not disappoint. Its aluminium body is well made and hard anodized and the fit and finish is beyond its price point.

The size and weight are good for its output rating and the 4 provided 3000mAh 18650 batteries allow for ample runtime. The maximum measured output of 14310 Lumen is 30% over the advertised 11000 Lumen, which is very impressive, and the beam profile is well balanced.

The tint of the Cree XHP50.2 LEDs is a cool, above BBL (greenish) tint and the CRI is low, but this is countered by the high lumen output these emitters allow the torch to achieve.

The driver is linear (unregulated) and uses PWM to dim the output, so PWM is present at all output levels, except on Turbo. The frequency of the PWM is high enough to not be visible to the naked eye and did not tire me when using the light.

The Sofirn Q8 Pro can be purchased from Amazon.co.uk in a kit with the batteries but not with the diffuser and holster and the cost at the moment this review is written is £89.99. Sofirn have provided a 30% discount code for the readers of this review, which brings the price down to £62.99. That is a very competitive price for a torch that can provide over 14000 Lumen and incorporates USB C charging and a power bank function at 3A.

The discount code is: polymeros30

For the rest of the world, the Sofirn Q8 Pro can be purchased directly from the Sofirn website on its own, as a kit with the batteries or as a kit including the batteries, diffuser and holster.

Disclaimer: I get absolutely no percentage of the sales or any other personal benefits from Sofirn, except for the fact that the torch was provided for review free of charge.

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Sofirn Q8 Pro:

Pros

+ Value for money

+ Maximum output of 14310 Lumen (of 11000 advertised)

+ Maximum throw of 457m (of 400m advertised)

+ Power bank function at 3A with good efficiency

+ USB type C charging at 3A

+ Aluminium Alloy construction with good fit and finish

+ Low Voltage Protection which turns off the torch when the battery voltage drops to 2.9V which preserves the health of the batteries

+ Thermal regulation

+ Well balanced beam

+ 4x 18650 Li-Ion 3000mAh (actually measured) high quality batteries included

+ Low power, charging and power bank function indicator LEDs on the switch

+ Andúril2 UI

+ Lighted button with indicative LEDs

+ IP68

+ Compatible with all button top 18650 batteries

+ A diffuser and a holster can be purchased from the company's website at low cost

Cons

- The driver is not regulated and uses PWM to dim the emitter

- The quality of the optional holster could be better

- The optional diffuser is made of plastic while a silicone diffuser would be better

Thanks to Sofirn for providing the torch for review

Polymeros Achaniotis 01/10/2021

Introduction

A little over a month ago, I reviewed the Acebeam E70-AL 6500K and was impressed by its quality and performance. Being quite fond both of Titanium and of high CRI emitters, I could not resist testing the CRI95+ variant of the E70 in a Titanium host.

Acebeam offers two finishes for their Acebeam E70-TI, a stonewashed finish and a PVD coated finish in rainbow colours.

Titanium is a fantastic metal, being very strong and hard for its weight, but it is far from optimal for torches because of its poor thermal conductivity. That, coupled with the high CRI emitter, which by default has low efficiency and produces much more heat than the Cree XHP70.2, means that if you are after performance you would be much better off sticking to the Acebeam E70-AL 6500K.

The Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is not about performance, it is about eye candy! The high CRI emitter offers a pleasant tint and excellent colour rendition that compliments the luxurious look and feeling of the Titanium host perfectly.

So, Lumen hunters, that's your cue to exit. Tint snobs, high CRI lovers, Titanium devotees, follow me!

Unboxing

The Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ comes in a white box with a clear window that allows a view of the light. The box emphasizes the 5 year warranty and the high efficiency, constant current boost circuit, both attesting to the high quality of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+.

The back side of the box does not offer any more information on specifications, but rather the company address, a few QR coded links and the usual certification logos.

My Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ sample is neither the stonewashed nor the PVD coated version. It is a unique sample I procured from Acebeam at a reviewer's discount and it is Chromium Electroplated Titanium. And it is gorgeous!

The top and bottom of the box have nothing printed on them, so nothing to show. One of the longer sides lists the possible applications of the torch while the other shows if the battery is included, the emitter type and a warning regarding safe usage.

Regarding the emitter choice, there is 6500K, 5000K and the 95+ CRI 4500K LED that is featured in today's sample. The 6500K and 5000K are 6V Cree XHP 70.2 LEDs while the 95+ CRI 4500K is the GT-FC40 which is a 12V LED and comes with a different driver.

The maximum output of the CRI95+ emitter is rated at 2500 Lumen, the 6500K at 4600 Lumen and the 5000K 10% less (according to a company representative).

The box features magnetic closure and opens like a book to reveal its contents.

The accessories include a charging cable, 2 spare O-rings, a storage bag and a lanyard, not pictured here as it came attached to the light. The leaflets include the manual, a warranty card, safety instructions and a note explaining the battery is in the light and the insulation sheet needs to be removed before use.

The Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ comes with the lanyard pre-attached.

I removed the lanyard to better show the torch, which features a unique design that is very harmonious and pleasing to the eye.

The bezel is crenulated and the head features alternating circular and oblong designs, which work well together.

The 8 oblong grooves are meant to house 12x2mm tritium vials according to Acebeam, but are not deep enough to completely cover them, measuring only 1.60mm in depth. As the glass tritium vials are very fragile, protruding equals a 100% chance of breaking. I would suggest to Acebeam to either make the grooves deeper by 0.5mm or, if not possible, to not advertise them as fit to house 12x2mm tritium vials.

The body of the torch features a helix design, with cut outs revealing the inner tube and creating a beautiful visual effect. It also features 6 oblong grooves where it connects to the head that are meant to house 6x1.5mm tritium vials and are perfectly sized for it.

The tail part of the tube features tapped holes where the milled clip comes pre-attached. The clip features an oblong groove that fits a 12x2mm tritium vial perfectly and is deep enough for it.

There are 3 sections at the back end of the body. One with the clip installed, one with tapped holes, where the clip could be moved to - no idea why though - and one with bigger holes, where the lanyard came pre-installed.

Removing the lanyard is very easy but re-installing it requires thin tweezers, which is probably why the company opted to ship the light with the lanyard already installed.

In total, the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ features an intricate design which looks quite busy but still harmonious and pleasing to the eye. The machining of such a design is not an easy feat, especially in Titanium and with the level of detail and quality we see here.

The business end of the torch comes with a protective plastic film, which must be removed before use.

Under the protective film, we can see the shallow orange peel reflector and the GT-FC40 CRI95+ 4500K emitter. The combination of such a large LED with the shallow OP reflector guarantee a very floody beam.

The back end of the torch is quite simple. It is where the switch for the operation of the torch is located. I like the simple, recessed design of the switch which allows the torch to tail stand and helps to protect from accidental activation. Clicking the switch is both easy and satisfying, without too much resistance but with adequate feedback.

The web address of the company is printed around the switch, which I find unnecessary and deducting from the aesthetics of the light. I do not mind the name of the light and the hot warning symbol printed at the front, but I would also prefer it if the CE and crossed out bin symbols were omitted.

The head and body unscrew to reveal that the battery ships inside the light, with the positive terminal insulated for safety. The threads are thick and square cut and, on my sample, rather gritty.

The battery is an Acebeam branded 21700 Li-Ion battery, rated at 5100mAh and it features a USB C port near the positive terminal.

Both battery contacts feature thick, good quality springs. These are probably adequate, but I would have still liked to see double springs or spring bypass wires in such a powerful light, to reduce the resistance even further. This would not have changed the brightness, as the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ features a boost driver, but could have helped a little with efficiency and run times.

As mentioned before, there is an inner tube, as the light features an electronic switch at the back and both the negative terminal of the battery and the switch need to be connected to the driver. On the driver end, the body contacts the outer tube and connects to the battery negative and the two gold plated contacts near the perimeter connect to the inner tube and transfer the switch presses. The spring in the middle of the driver makes direct contact with the positive terminal of the battery.

Having springs on both ends makes the torch resilient to bumps and drops, as the battery is suspended between two springs under pressure and is not likely to momentarily disconnect and turn the light off.

Quality

The machining quality of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is very high. Even at close inspection, there are no flaws.

No edge is sharp, not a single spot less than perfectly milled. This is indeed a top quality light.

On very close inspection, the Chrome Electroplating is not as perfect as the milling, with some hairline marks present and the Chrome Electroplating not quite reaching inside the grooves, but as the production torches are either stonewashed or PVD coated, that will not be an issue there.

Specifications

The specifications of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ are not clearly listed on the company's website but I was able to gather them and they can be seen in the following table:

Of course, the Chrome Electroplating finish is just for my sample. The commercially available finishes are, as mentioned before, stonewashed and PVD coated.

I weighed the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ at 138g without the battery and 218g with it.

The GT-FC40 emitter has a CCT of 4500K and a CRI of 95+ while it also features high R9 (rendition of the colour red, which is rare even among high CRI emitters). Acebeam claims the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ can achieve a maximum brightness of 2500 Lumen.

User Interface

The user interface of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is simple and intuitive.

Despite featuring a recessed button, and a lock mode, a double click is required to turn the light on. This prevents accidental activation of unlocked lights and protects even the most careless of users from accidental activations, which would be disastrous with such a powerful light.

The user interface of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is as follows:

• From Off
  • Double click to turn on (with memory for the 4 main modes), click again to turn off.
  • Click and hold from off to turn on at  Moonlight mode. Keep holding until if flashes three times to lock the light. Click and hold again to unlock into Moonlight mode.
  • Triple click for Strobe. Click to turn off or double click for Turbo.
• From On
  • Click to turn off.
  • Hold to cycle through the main modes (Low, Mid1 ,Mid2, High).
  • Double click for Turbo. Double click again to return to previous mode.
  • Triple click for Strobe. Click to turn off or double click for Turbo. From Turbo, click to return to previous (before Strobe) mode. There is no way to go directly from Strobe to a previous, non Turbo mode.

Acebeam does not provide the output ratings of each mode, but I measured them for you and you can see the actual numbers in the table below. Notice that the Turbo output slightly exceeds the specifications. Unfortunately, my equipment is unable to measure the brightness of the Strobe mode.

Beam-shots

The beam pattern of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is exactly what can be expected from a large emitter combined with a shallow, orange peel reflector. The light is very floody, with a large hot spot and a lot of spill.

Compared to the Acebeam E70-AL 6500K with the domed Cree XHP70.2 emitter, the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ with the flat GT-FC40, has a bit more throw per Lumen and a tighter hot spot.

I tested the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ outside, over a distance of 70m.

The following video shows a comparison of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ with the Acebeam E70-AL 6500K and the Fireflies E07 (with 7 Nichia 219b sw45k emitters).

Driver

The driver of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is a digitally regulated, constant current boost driver, which should be able to maintain constant brightness regardless of the battery voltage and also features smart temperature control, reverse polarity protection and low voltage protection. Very refreshing to see such a high quality driver.

There is no PWM in any of the modes.

Tint and Size Comparison

The tint of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is a neutral - warm 4500K and seems to be slightly below BBL. This light is a joy to behold, provides excellent colour rendition (including red) and is very pleasing to the eye.

In the comparison photo below, you can see the neutral - pink tint of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ in the middle, compared to the green tint of the Acebeam E70-AL 6500K on the left and the rosier tint of the Fireflies E07 (with Nichia 219b sw45k emitters) on the right.

The above photo also offers a size comparison between the lights. The Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is not a light that can be easily carried in your trousers pocket, but it fits fine in a winter jacket or a backpack.

Battery and Charging

The battery included with the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is a 21700, rated at 5100mAh and features onboard USB C charging.

The specifications of the Acebeam IMR21700NP-510A with Built-in USB C Port, as shown on the company's website, are listed in the following table:

I measured the capacity of the battery at exactly 4716mAh which is rather low compared to its 5100mAh rated capacity. The battery's internal resistance was measured at 26mΩ. The light has Low Voltage Protection and turns off when the battery voltage drops to 2.8V.

Charging the Acebeam IMR21700NP-510A with Built-in USB C Port is very easy. Just connect the provided cable or any other USB C cable to the charging port and its other end to a charger. Both USB A to USB C and USB C to USB C cables can be used as well as any charger, including the ones that support PD. This is very convenient as you can charge the Acebeam IMR21700NP-510A with Built-in USB C Port with any USB C cable and charger you have at hand. The LED on the battery lights up red to indicate that it is charging and turns green when the charging is completed, at 4.14V.

The Acebeam IMR21700NP-510A with Built-in USB C Port took 6 hours, 22 minutes and 27 seconds to charge from 2.8V to 4.14V. The maximum current drawn was 0.899A, which is low for a 21700 battery and explains the very long charging time. A charging circuit which can support 2A charging would have been much better.

As the specifications indicate that the standard charging current is 1A, I can't help but wonder if it would be OK to charge the battery at 2A through a charger with large enough cradles to fit a protected button top 21700.

A very nice feature of the Acebeam IMR21700NP-510A with Built-in USB C Port is its ability to function as a power bank. This is facilitated by the USB A port on the included charging cable, but a USB C to USB C cable can also be used, even for devices that do not support power delivery.

When the Acebeam IMR21700NP-510A with Built-in USB C Port is functioning as a power bank, its indicative LED turns blue.

There is no information available regarding the current the battery can provide through its USB C port so I had to investigate. Anything above 2.7A and the circuit would immediately reset. I gradually reduced the current until I found it to be initially stable at 2A, which is a good output. Unfortunately, this only worked with a fully charged battery and after 40 minutes of drawing 2A, the circuit started resetting. At the end of the test, and after countless resets, the battery voltage was 3.14V.

I tempered my expectations and tried drawing 1A from the battery and this seems to be the maximum supported current for the power bank function, as the battery was able to maintain it with stability for 3 hours, before the circuit reset a few times and then turned off. I would have much preferred it if it had turned off without the resets, as I am not sure if they could damage any sensitive equipment being charged. The battery voltage at the end of the test was 2.99V.

The Acebeam IMR21700NP-510A with Built-in USB C Port is a battery packed with nice features such as onboard USB C charging and power bank functionality, along with a large 5100mAh capacity. Nevertheless, the actual capacity of 4716mAh and the slow charging speed leave something to be desired, especially considering the $23.90 price tag.

EDC Bulb

Acebeam offers an accessory which adds a lot of value to the Acebeam IMR21700NP-510A with Built-in USB C Port. It is the Acebeam EDC Bulb.

The Acebeam EDC Bulb attaches to the top of the Acebeam IMR21700NP-510A with Built-in USB C Port and connects to the battery's USB C port to draw power.

The installation and operation are explained in the animation below.

The specifications of the Acebeam EDC Bulb as found on the company's website, are in the following table:

This tiny plastic attachment adds a lot of functionality to the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ and is a must buy, especially since it normally costs only $3.99 and is currently on offer for a mere $0.10. Unfortunately, it is also out of stock.

The modes that the Acebeam EDC Bulb supports, along with their respective run times, are listed in the table below:

The Acebeam EDC Bulb is so simple and at the same time so useful and nicely implemented! It really adds value to the Acebeam IMR21700NP-510A with Built-in USB C Port.

Current Draw

The Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ has a low parasitic drain that is below the ability of my clamp meter to measure. The Moonlight mode draws 129mA. The Low, Mid1, Mid2 and High modes need 302mA, 565mA, 1.295A and 2.167A respectively and Turbo requires 10.64A.

If we compare those values to the ones we got from the Acebeam E70-AL 6500K we can clearly see how much efficiency is lost. This translates to less light and more heat. It is the price we pay for high quality light.

Here is a comparative table showing the measured light output versus the current draw. This allows us to calculate the efficiency of each mode in both torches.

As we can see the efficiency of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is much lower.

Output & Runtimes

The Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ with the 4500K GT-FC40 CRI95+ emitter is rated at a maximum of 2500 Lumen. Acebeam does not declare its maximum throw.

I do not own a multi thousand dollar worth integrating sphere, just a logging Lumen meter and a home made integrating tube. The array is calibrated with 3 separate, professionally measured lights and gives me consistent results, but there is definitely room for error and deviations are to be expected.

According to my measurements, the maximum output (at turn on) was 2564 Lumen, which slightly exceeds the declared 2500 Lumen. ANSI output (at 30 seconds) was 2288 Lumen and the rapid output decline continued down to 896 Lumen at 1 minute and 12 seconds. It then declined gradually as the temperatures rose, to 840 Lumen over the next 1 hour, 29 minutes and 28 seconds. After that, it stepped down to Mid1 level for 2 minutes and 39 seconds and then dropped to Low level for a further 19 minutes and 2 seconds, before it turned off.

While the output of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is good for its size and taking into account that it is using a very high CRI emitter, the low efficiency of that emitter along with the Titanium construction cause some extremely high temperatures to develop. The head of the torch exceeded 90°C! The body is somewhat protected because Titanium does not conduct heat well, but still reached over 60°C during the test. This is definitely not a light to hold in bare hands on Turbo for extended periods of time.

The following graph shows the first 10 minutes of the Runtime Graph in greater detail.

I also ran the test on High output. Thermals were more manageable this time as output was reduced. The body stayed below 55°C and the light output was stable and lasted for 2 hours, 10 minutes and 37 seconds on High, before it turned off.

The following graph shows the first 10 minutes of the High Runtime Graph in greater detail.

The light quality of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is really impressive and so is the premium feeling of the Titanium body, but efficiency suffers for it and thermals are a definite consideration. The torch is very usable, despite the low efficiency and high temperatures and I actually prefer it and use it much more than the Acebeam E70-AL 6500K because of the significantly better quality of the light it produces

Acebeam does not specify the maximum intensity and throw of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+. I measured the maximum intensity to be 8932cd and the maximum throw at 183m.

Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ vs. Acebeam E70-AL 6500K

The following graph compares the output and thermal performance of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ to those of the Acebeam E70-AL 6500K. 

As expected, the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ has both lower output and less run time, while the temperatures are much higher. Notice the higher difference between head and body temperatures in the Titanium host versus the Aluminium host, which is indicative of the bad thermal conductivity of Titanium.

The following graph shows the first 10 minutes of the comparison, in greater detail. For the first 10 minutes, the Titanium body is even more comfortable to hold than the Aluminium.

It goes without saying that an Aluminium host and a high efficiency emitter win in performance. The high CRI emitter and Titanium host win in light quality and premium feeling. The choice is yours to make.

Conclusion

The Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is a light that emphasizes quality.

The machining of the Titanium host is intricate with no imperfections or sharp edges. The driver is fully regulated and provides constant current output without any PWM on any of the modes. The GT-FW40 CRI95+ 4500K emitter is below the BBL and produces a very pleasant beam with fantastic colour rendition.

The User Interface is simple and functional and extra care has been taken to prevent accidental activations.

The size is normal for a 21700 light and not too easy to fit into trousers pockets, although not impossible. I would prefer to carry the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ in my backpack or in the pocket of a winter jacket. Or a holster, which should have been included.

The optional Acebeam IMR21700NP-510A with Built-in USB C Port battery features USB C onboard charging and Power Bank functionality while the Acebeam EDC Bulb optional accessory adds a lot of usability and value.

If you are looking for a premium quality torch that feels luxurious to hold and produces light equally as luxurious to look at, then the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ is a light you should consider. If you prefer efficiency and high output, then look at the Acebeam E70-AL 6500K instead.

The Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+ can be purchased directly from the company's website and the cost at the moment this review is written is $208.80, including the battery and shipping, worldwide. The light without the battery costs $188.90, but keep in mind that only button top protected 21700 batteries that can provide at least 10.64A of current will work.

Let's list the Pros and Cons of the Acebeam E70-TI CRI95+:

Pros

+ Below BBL CRI95+ 4500K emitter produces excellent light quality.

+ Digitally regulated constant current boost driver which provides stable output and high efficiency with no PWM.

+ Luxurious Titanium Body construction.

+ Long runtimes.

+ Impeccable and intricate machining.

+ USB type C charging integrated in the battery.

+ Low Voltage Protection.

+ Quality springs on both sides of the battery.

+ Smart ITS Temperature Control.

+ Simple and intuitive UI.

+ 6 slots for 6x1.5mm tritium vials.

+ IP68.

+ The battery provides Power Bank functionality.

+ The Acebeam EDC Bulb optional accessory is very useful.

Cons

- Bad thermal performance.

- Low efficiency.

- The 8 slots on the head meant to house 12x2mm tritium vials are only 1.60mm deep and cannot protect the fragile glass vials so are not fit for purpose.

- The battery is expensive.

- The battery takes a long time to charge.

- Actual battery capacity is 4716mAh instead of 5100mAh.

- A holster should be included.

Thanks to Acebeam for providing a reviewer's discount for the light for review

Polymeros Achaniotis 28/09/2021